MORE than 900 NSW petrol stations and depots could be leaking fuel into soil and groundwater and petrol-related land makes up the bulk of the state's 300 most contaminated sites, official data shows.
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Figures contained in a NSW Auditor-General report released late last year show 770 service stations and 176 other petroleum sites were actually or potentially contaminated, with many leaking fuel from underground tanks.
In two of the worst confirmed cases, high levels of the cancer-causing agent benzene leaked from a Brighton-le-Sands petrol station and were detected beneath a waterfront park, and elevated concentrations of a toxic chemical mix were recorded inside a home near a service station at Rosebery.
More than 300 NSW sites were found to be significantly contaminated, the largest number of which were petrol stations. About two-thirds were yet to be remediated. The data shows serious contamination by Sydney petrol stations at Randwick, Forestville, Lane Cove, Sutherland, Chatswood and Canterbury.
In several cases, contamination had travelled to nearby homes. A leak from a Sutherland service station was migrating to an adjacent Sydney Water reservoir site.
Some fuel companies, including BP, Caltex and Mobil, class all petrol station sites as potentially contaminated and refer them to authorities as a matter of precaution.
The Environment Protection Authority is yet to fully assess many of the 1070 suspect sites in NSW, most of which are petrol stations, but says many have only minor issues and do not require regulation. Major petrol chains contacted by the Herald reported a range of measures to prevent contamination including stock loss systems to detect fuel leaks, regular monitoring and infrastructure upgrades.
But the director of Total Environment Centre, Jeff Angel, said the effects of previously lax approaches to fuel storage were now being felt.
"They built underground tanks, stuck a petrol station on top and that was it. There was no real monitoring or high quality standard of storage," he said.
Engadine resident Samantha Henwood, 39, claims petrol contaminants have severely impacted her health and that of her son Chris, 16.
According to an Environment Protection Authority notice issued in April 2010, toxic chemicals from a nearby BP station were found in the stormwater drain at the rear of Ms Henwood's Housing NSW complex.
The contaminants included benzene, which is "toxic to humans and aquatic ecosystems", the notice stated.
Ms Henwood blames her chronic fatigue syndrome on the petrol. A smell of fuel had permeated her home intermittently since 2008, but improved since remediation began, she said.
"There was a very slow leak for a long time until … we could smell it constantly," Ms Henwood said.
"It was horrible. I felt like I was getting gassed. My son was feeling sick all the time and had chest pain, and we both had sore throats." An Environment Protection Authority spokesman said it had taken action to mitigate potential effects on residents at the complex including air monitoring and the removal of gross contamination.
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