Woodville North

Finsbury Munitions Factory Building later used as Email Household Goods Parts Centre, photo courtesy of Dave Walsh

Last updated April 2025

The EPA commenced environmental assessment in Woodville North, Athol Park, and Pennington in 2018.

This includes the former ‘Finsbury Factory’, north of Torrens Road to Grand Junction Road.

The investigations have been focused on assessing the scale of chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination, primarily trichloroethene (TCE), in groundwater and soil vapour.

The EPA undertook additional seasonal groundwater sampling in the area in March 2023 to inform the extent of a proposed groundwater prohibition area (GPA). Testing results indicated that the groundwater within the upper three aquifers in the Woodville North EPA assessment area is contaminated with TCE above drinking water guidelines. Results from the March 2023 sampling were used to inform the establishment of the Woodville North GPA.

Some chemicals in groundwater, including TCE, can evaporate into a vapour. The vapour can migrate up through the soil and enter buildings through crawlspaces, floorboards, and cracks and gaps in foundations. The movement of vapours into a building is called vapour intrusion. If vapour accumulates over a long time and no action is taken, the concentration can build up to unsafe levels and present long-term health risks. The EPA has undertaken indoor air testing in some homes predicted to be at risk from vapour intrusion and installed vapour mitigation systems where required.

The Stage 6 assessment, completed in May 2024, was undertaken to better understand the vapour intrusion risk in the assessment area and identified the need for indoor air testing of some homes in Pennington. This assessment also identified TCE in the groundwater in a part of Athol Park. The EPA is commencing an environmental assessment in Athol Park in 2025.

The EPA is continuing to assess vapour intrusion risks in targeted locations within the Woodville North assessment area.

For more information about the GPA, please visit:

Woodville North GPA - Engage EPA

Chemicals of concern

The main chemical of concern in the Woodville North EPA assessment area is trichloroethene (TCE). TCE is a colourless liquid industrial chemical that is used widely in industry for metal cleaning and in the production of products such as adhesives, lacquers, dyes, perfumes and soaps. In the past, TCE was also used in many other applications such as removing caffeine from coffee beans in the production of decaffeinated coffee, in dry cleaning, and as an anaesthetic for surgery. In the environment, TCE breaks down rapidly in air and surface water but much more slowly in soil and groundwater.

For more information about TCE, please visit SA Health's website.

Vapour intrusion

TCE in groundwater can become a vapour, migrate up through the soil, and enter buildings through crawlspaces, floorboards, and cracks and gaps in foundations. The movement of vapours into a building is call vapour intrusion. If vapour accumulates over a long time, the concentration can build up to unsafe levels and present long-term health risks.

Selling or buying

The EPA has a statutory obligation under the Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994 to provide information relating to environment protection.

This includes details of reports where an environmental assessment has been carried out by, or on behalf of, the EPA.

Once a report is received, an interest will be flagged on properties within the assessment area to ensure that potential future purchasers are aware that an assessment has been undertaken. This is in addition to any other EPA interests that have previously been flagged on the certificate of title, should they exist.

Community updates

Reports

Further information

For more information, please contact the EPA:
Email – engage.epa@sa.gov.au
Phone – (08) 8429 7554

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