The owner of a historic hotel burnt down in far north South Australia has been issued a clean-up order due to environmental pollution.
Andamooka's Opal Hotel was one of three buildings damaged by suspicious fires that broke out in the town between December 20 and the early hours of the next morning last year.
Two homes were also partially destroyed by fire.
The Opal Hotel was being renovated by two leaseholders at the time, and had been closed for more than nine years.
"A couple of people thought, 'well this is an opportunity here with the Andamooka Opal Hotel to get it back to a working state', and unfortunately there was an arson," Giles MP Eddie Hughes said.
The Environmental Protection Authority issued a clean-up order in July after numerous inspections revealed 300 tonnes of construction and demolition waste contained friable asbestos.
The friable state of asbestos was as a result of the fire, meaning it had been crumbled or transformed into a state that could be breathed in by humans.
Breathing in asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
The requirements of the order mean the director of the site must erect, install and maintain physical barriers to prevent the community from entering it.
It also urges the construction and demolition waste to be sprayed by a qualified contractor, and for that to continue every three months while the waste remains.
Air monitoring and signage must also be present at the site.
Mr Hughes said he understood some of the requirements were yet to be undertaken.
"It is concerning, I was speaking to someone today and they've had some heavy rain ... so the water has run through that particular site so it's distributing some of this material," Mr Hughes said.
"There needs to be a complete clean-up of the site."
The renovation of the Opal Hotel was a bid by residents to bring a pub to the town after the Tuckabox Hotel closed prior to the Covid pandemic.
What the police said
SA Police deemed the fires as suspicious in January and said the Opal Hotel had an estimated damage bill of $250,000.
In an update provided earlier this month, a spokesperson said while no crime ws ever filed completely, no further lines of enquiry existed.
Anyone with information on the crimes has been urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Call for reform
Mr Hughes said in other areas, councils would get involved, but there was no legislative direction to allow the local progress association to take action and order a clean-up of the Opal Hotel.
"I think there needs to be some legislative changes and resources and to maybe enable the outback community as a priority to take a more proactive stance," Mr Hughes said.
Lease holders for the hotel declined to comment.
