LAKE Macquarie residents have demanded the removal of contaminated soil from their properties caused by pollution from the old Pasminco lead and zinc smelter at Boolaroo.
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More than 250 people attended a public meeting to discuss the problem last week.
Residents demanded a proper clean up of their towns, with some becoming embroiled in heated debates over the best way to move forward.
They assert that government failures to deal with this problem have left the public facing serious public health risks and the financial burden of cleaning up a corporate polluter's mess.
Others called for a future fund with sufficient money to deal with the remediation of 2500 affected properties, preferably from Pasminco's assets.
On Friday, state Opposition Leader Luke Foley called on the Baird government to prepare options to decontaminate land affected by the Pasminco pollution problem.
A joint Newcastle Herald-Macquarie University investigation exposed the failure of the state-sanctioned lead abatement strategy, which was meant to address pollution in Boolaroo, Argenton and Speers Point.