Preliminary report on possible elevated levels of formaldehyde in Royal Wolf containers in the Northern Territory, compiled and released by the Department.
This report outlines the Department's response from 8 November 2007, when concerns were first raised by staff about an odour in shipping containers used to house Northern Territory Emergency Response staff, to 10 April 2008, the date when a report from the container accommodation supplier, Royal Wolf, revealed elevated levels of formaldehyde in a container the company tested.
Background
Government Business Managers (GBMs) and Community Employment Brokers (CEBs) have been deployed to remote Indigenous communities as part of the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).
Due to a lack of suitable and available accommodation, shipping containers were purchased from a company called Royal Wolf Trading Australia Pty Limited (Royal Wolf), an Australian supplier of new and refurbished shipping containers. A mix of new and used containers was sourced by Royal Wolf. Containers used as bedrooms were supplied already refitted, while the kitchen and office containers were refitted in Darwin.