The EPA is defending its decision to leave up to 10 million litres of toxic chemicals sitting in a West Footscray factory for a year.

The week-long fire (pictured above) spewed a cloud of toxic smoke across the city, exposing firefighters and residents to dangerous chemicals and severely contaminating Stony Creek.

It burnt in August 2019, but only yesterday was the extent of the remaining toxic waste revealed.

Chief executive Cathy Wilkinson defended the EPA, saying the discovery of the chemicals came as no surprise, but investigation couldn’t be rushed.

“We’ve been pretty transparent right from the start,” she said.

“What’s new here is that the clean-up is moving into the next phase.

“We’ve known there’s materials on-site … because we’ve been testing the water way along Stony Creek.”

Click PLAY to hear her full interview with Ross and John