On Sunday (9-11-08) at 11:23am Hismelt had a massive explosion of gases and coal dust, apparently from the emergency relief valves or pressure relief valves (whichever you prefer to call them).
This explosion was heard and felt throughout Kwinana, Rockingham and parts of Cockburn, The subsequent black mushroom cloud over Kwinana industry could be seen from a great distance.
By 11:26am my phones were going off, people from as far as Wellard, Parmelia, Rockingham ringing to tell me of the explosion and/or try and find out what was going on. Some workers from the strip also rang as they weren't sure what was going on. At first I thought it must have been BP Refinery, so went down to the strip and checked with Security and BP and Wesfarmers LPG and determined it came from Hismelt direction. Security at Hismelt confirmed it was an explosion, flames and cloud of smoke from the plant.
It was confirmed that the Kwinana Industries Mutual Aid (KIMA) emergency notification system was not used... ie. Each Kwinana Industry has at least one two way radio tuned to the emergency KIMA channel, in the event of an incident such as this industry is meant to notify each other via this emergency radio system.
It was also confirmed that the incident was not recorded on the emergency community information hot line # 1300 304 346 until over 24 hrs after the incident. So the community like those in surrounding industries where also kept in the dark.
This happens just about everytime something goes wrong in Kwinana Industry, the emergency communication systems fail, but as happened last time Kwinana Industry will probably attempt to shift the focus back to the community reps that are airing the concerns.
As a part of Hismelt's license it is required to report incidents to the DEC - This incident was not reported to the DEC by Hismelt, the community reported the incident to the DEC on Monday morning and the DEC had not been contacted by Hismelt.
It is my belief (feel free to correct me if I am wrong) That Hismelt is required to report incidents to the DOCEP - This incident was not reported to the DOCEP by Hismelt again the community reported the incident to DOCEP.
Will this company be held accountable for the above probable breaches - Probably Not - Why? Because it is another multinational mining giant that seems to me to be above our law.
Does this make you feel comfortable that Kwinana Industry is keeping you informed and safe? What will happen when the Big One occurs? I suggest it would be absolute chaos and no-one will know what is going on.
Is it really to much to ask for an emergency communication system that works and is used? Or is it easier for Kwinana Industry to once again play divide and conquer tactics and claim it is only a minority of the community that are affected/concerned?
This explosion was heard and felt throughout Kwinana, Rockingham and parts of Cockburn, The subsequent black mushroom cloud over Kwinana industry could be seen from a great distance.
By 11:26am my phones were going off, people from as far as Wellard, Parmelia, Rockingham ringing to tell me of the explosion and/or try and find out what was going on. Some workers from the strip also rang as they weren't sure what was going on. At first I thought it must have been BP Refinery, so went down to the strip and checked with Security and BP and Wesfarmers LPG and determined it came from Hismelt direction. Security at Hismelt confirmed it was an explosion, flames and cloud of smoke from the plant.
It was confirmed that the Kwinana Industries Mutual Aid (KIMA) emergency notification system was not used... ie. Each Kwinana Industry has at least one two way radio tuned to the emergency KIMA channel, in the event of an incident such as this industry is meant to notify each other via this emergency radio system.
It was also confirmed that the incident was not recorded on the emergency community information hot line # 1300 304 346 until over 24 hrs after the incident. So the community like those in surrounding industries where also kept in the dark.
This happens just about everytime something goes wrong in Kwinana Industry, the emergency communication systems fail, but as happened last time Kwinana Industry will probably attempt to shift the focus back to the community reps that are airing the concerns.
As a part of Hismelt's license it is required to report incidents to the DEC - This incident was not reported to the DEC by Hismelt, the community reported the incident to the DEC on Monday morning and the DEC had not been contacted by Hismelt.
It is my belief (feel free to correct me if I am wrong) That Hismelt is required to report incidents to the DOCEP - This incident was not reported to the DOCEP by Hismelt again the community reported the incident to DOCEP.
Will this company be held accountable for the above probable breaches - Probably Not - Why? Because it is another multinational mining giant that seems to me to be above our law.
Does this make you feel comfortable that Kwinana Industry is keeping you informed and safe? What will happen when the Big One occurs? I suggest it would be absolute chaos and no-one will know what is going on.
Is it really to much to ask for an emergency communication system that works and is used? Or is it easier for Kwinana Industry to once again play divide and conquer tactics and claim it is only a minority of the community that are affected/concerned?
Update 14-11-08: Paragraphs 7,8 and 9 have been changed slightly due to a request from Kwinana Industry. Kwinana Industry claims Hismelt did report the incident to the DEC and that they are not required to report incidents to DOCEP. For now we will have to agree to disagree on those opinions because it is still my belief that the community actually reported the incident to the DEC first thing Monday morning and until then the DEC knew nothing of it. It is also my belief that industries that come under the mines act regulations are required to report to DOCEP
