05:47 pm, Monday 19 April, 2010

The Northern Territory Government has announced an inquiry on Friday after a video showing chemical sludge in Darwin’s port became public.

A video by ABC had shown big black plume in the water and sludge on the wharf.

There is a concern that the copper concentrate coming from the port may wash into the city’s harbour. Darwin’s port has an open-sided conveyor belt, and when the concentrate is transferred to a ship, it is possible that some of it will spill onto the wharf.

It is a serious issue, according to Dr Stuart Blanch of the Environment Centre.

“Copper concentrate is a cocktail of nasty chemicals,” he said.

“Copper, arsenic, silica, uranium: all of them have impacts on human health and the environment.

Glen Williams, a Maritime Union of Australia organiser , said they have been asking for the conveyor belt to be covered for 18 months.

“The level of containment down there of the product is clearly not adequate,” he said.

“We have been calling for some time to have the loader fully enclosed to reduce – not completely – but I’m sure that you would reduce spillage and the dust being blown all over the wharf, if we had a fully contained and concealed conveyor system.”

Mr Williams said its members have also raised concerns over manganese and iron ore.

“It’s not only the copper concentrate that is the issue – you have got iron ore and manganese being trucked down from the stockpile area,” he said.

“While copper concentrate is the nastiest product down there, I don’t think it would be very good for your health working around that wharf area with iron ore dust blowing around and you are breathing that in.”

The Port Corporation said it will cooperate with Government authorities in the investigations, and has already made steps to address some of the issues.

The Country Liberals’ Peter Styles has called out WorkSafe to ask serious questions about the port’s safety procedures.

“What procedures were put in place in relation to this particular product being moved from train to storage and into ships?” he said.

“Those particular standard operating procedures should be investigated to ensure that the people who work in that environment are protected and not exposed to some of the carcinogenics that are involved in this particular copper concentrate.”

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04:51 pm, Monday 19 April, 2010

The lawyers for a Kalgoorlie gold mining firm have pushed to have the company’s court case over a worker’s death adjourned.

In January 2009, a 54-year-old woman was killed after falling off the dump truck she was driving at a Kalgoorlie pit – the largest gold open pit mine in Australia.

The company is on trial for failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment and failing to appoint a deputy quarry manager when the usual quarry manager was unavailable.

The Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court did not require the company’s lawyers who were present to plead to the charges.

The case has been adjourned and will resume next month.

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09:42 am, Friday 16 April, 2010

WorkSafe is inviting small businesses in Sale to attend a free breakfast on Thursday. This is part of the safety watchdog’s efforts to help them prepare for safety audit next month.

According to WorkSafe’s Charlotte Bull, it is an opportunity for businesses to ask about workplace health and safety and how they can comply with relevant laws.

Ms Bull said it will precede an inspection blitz in May.

“Our inspectors will be visiting Sale from the 17 to the 21st of May. Probably going to be visiting around 200 businesses during that time,” she said.

“They’re going to be small businesses. We’re going to be particularly targeting businesses which we haven’t visited probably in the last 12 months and who have had previous claims for workplace injury or illness.”

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09:00 am, Friday 16 April, 2010

A drilling company is about to be sentenced next month over a workplace incident which cost the life of its worker in 2007.

The Goldfields company has pleaded guilty to failing to provide and maintain systems of work.

In March 2007, a 19-year-old employee was working at a Gindalbie Station, 50 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie. He was struck by a pressure hose, which resulted to his death.

During sentencing submissions on Wednesday, the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court was told basic safety procedures on the use of the equipment were not followed.

The Court also heard the company was extremely remorseful about what happened to its employee, and had gone through financial woes since the incident.

The Court will hand down the sentence on May 6.

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08:41 am, Friday 16 April, 2010

A factory worker who was almost overcome by toxic gas was rescued just in time by a truck driver yesterday, emergency authorities said.

The 43-year-old man was handling waste at a factory in Melbourne’s west when he was exposed to chlorine.

A truck driver, who arrived at the Lavern North plant to deliver chemicals, brought the factory worker out of the premises.

The two men barely made it to a safety zone when they both collapsed.

They were taken to the hospital for treatment. The driver was discharged from the hospital overnight, while the factory worker was later declared to be in a stable condition.

Fire commander Ken Brown said the two men were the only people in the factory when the incident occurred.

“What crews found when they first arrived, was a factory worker and a truck driver were struggling for breath,” he said.

“Chlorine’s a poisonous gas and very, very nasty to the respiratory system.”

Fire crews took three hours to clear the chlorine gas from the factory.

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07:54 am, Friday 16 April, 2010

The Federal Government is open to a proposal that will consider domestic violence as a workplace issue.

The Community and Public Sectors Union is in talks with the University of New South Wales to draft the country’s first workplace agreement centering on employees who suffer from domestic abuse.

According to the Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek, it costs the nation $13.6 billion annually to deal with issues related to violence against women.

She said the agreement can help protect victimised women, especially in terms of financial security.

“Women should not have to suffer the consequences of losing their connection to the workplace either because they’ve been a victim of domestic violence or because they’ve taken action to stop domestic violence,” she said.

“By remaining connected to a workplace, a woman has a much better chance of attaining her independence after the perpetrator has been removed from the family home.”

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06:07 am, Friday 16 April, 2010

Authorities are still determining the cause of a fire which destroyed an factory in Brisbane’s south on Wednesday.

Over 80 fire fighters worked together to put out the flames at the carpet underlay and glue business in Yatala.

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Superintendent Jeff King said they are checking the air quality in the area.

“The biggest problem was the actual intensity of the fire due to the foam underlay products that was actually involved in the fire,” he said.

He said their scientific officers started monitoring the air toxicity after the fire gave off thick black smoke.

“Any of the smoke is all within safe limits however … you can just sort of smell that in the air,” he said.

“So if anybody finds that it maybe a bit of an irritant to them then the basic advice is not to go outside, stay indoors, close their doors and windows.”

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09:26 pm, Thursday 15 April, 2010

The coroner has the authority to determine whether the death of a man in Sydney’s west on Wednesday because of herbicide exposure, emergency authorities say.

Emergency crews were called to a Horsley Park house around 8:00am after a gardener collapsed and died.

The 56-year-old was spraying weeds with herbicides just before he collapsed. Fire and police authorities said they cannot immediately find out if he died because of the chemicals or heart attack.

According to Police Superintendent Peter Lennon, 21 other people were contaminated with the chemicals when they attempted to resuscitate the gardener.

“Three were so serious they had to be taken to a nearby hospital. They’ve since been assessed and been released,” he said.

WorkCover NSW is looking into the incident.

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06:58 pm, Thursday 15 April, 2010

Operations have recommenced in the Leinster nickel mine yesterday while safety authorities continue their investigation into an accident that has claimed a man’s life.

A 45-year-old worker died on Sunday in the mine in Goldsfields after his truck fell 18 metres down an underground shaft.

According to the mining company, workers have started surface operations after work was suspended in the days following the tragic incident. However, full production will not resume for several weeks.

Meanwhile, WA Greens’ Alison Xamon said changes to the mine safety system in the state should change.

“The solutions are out there. They’ve been out there for some time. By calling an urgent judicial inquiry we will finally bring it to a head,” she said.

“We have had three reviews of the Mines Act already in the last 10 years and several inquiries into the resources industry and the same things keep getting found over and over again.

“It’s just about time someone started implementing rather than constant investigations.”

According to Mines Minister Norman Moore, the industry is starting to introduce a risk-based assessment scheme.

He has downplayed the opposition’s call for a royal commission into the worker’s death.

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09:30 pm, Wednesday 14 April, 2010

Workers at an office building in Newcastle have been inhaling hazardous fumes for years – and it is time to find the source, the Public Services Association says.

The building had to be evacuated twice this week. Twenty eight people were treated in the hospital for mild respiratory problems.

According to the union, there had been up to 6 emergency evacuations in the building in the last four years.

It currently houses call centre staff and customer service representatives.

Union spokesman Evan Cole said the employers should work with the building owner to discover the cause of the fumes.

“In the short term the members will have to be guided by what the fire brigade rules out or rules in, in terms of the cause,” he said.

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