Breaking News - Tiwest

2 contract workers at Tiwest Kwinana have been exposed to acid and have been sent to hospital.

Apparently many others affected but only minor.

Suspect Hydrochloric Acid thus Hydrogen Chloride Gas?

Kwinana Power Station Evacuated After Asbestos Scare

Workers were yesterday evacuated following an asbestos exposure scare at the Kwinana Power Station.

More details can be seen in the media release from Eric Ripper leader of opposition:

"Workers evacuated following asbestos contamination
Hundreds of workers may have been exposed to deadly asbestos fibres at a Kwinana power station, Labor Leader Eric Ripper said today.
“Demolition work at the Kwinana power station has uncovered old pipes coated with asbestos,” he said.
“Workers were sent home yesterday following testing which found positive readings for asbestos at 18 of the 30 test sites.
“It appears the entire plant may be contaminated with asbestos and workers have been sent home indefinitely.”
Mr Ripper called for immediate and comprehensive testing of the station to establish the likely level of exposure.
These workers are now in limbo. They have no idea as to the level of exposure they may have endured and they are understandably fearful and very concerned about their health, he said".

and as reported in todays West Kwinana Power Station riddled with asbestos.

and as reported on ABC news, where it can be seen by worksafe's comment that nothing has changed with them or is likely to in the near future. How dare we expect worksafe to protect workers?

Another worker affected at Tiwest

Another incident at Tiwest this morning, with another worker affected and receiving medical treatment.

Apparently the plant was shutdown and vented to the emergency stack (which bypasses scrubber systems), when I was there at around 10:35 the gas cloud from emergency stack could clearly be seen leaving the Tiwest boundry.

One just can't help but wonder what authorities like worksafe will be saying this time? Is there a risk yet worksafe?

Update 1: Post modified to reflect; according to Kwinana Courier article worker was actually exposed to 'Titanium Dioxide' which Tiwest claim is non toxic, however as blogged here, Titanium Dioxide has been classified a IARC-2B carcinogen.

Update 2: Photo's taken after the incident of emissions Titatium Dioxide from Tiwest published:


The white cloud of Titanium Dioxide in the centre of pic (near crain jib) discharging from the the baghouse filters.

I suppose the Kwinana Mayor thinks we are lucky being exposed to this?

Tell it to the sick children Mayor

Maybe our Mayor should explain to those who have asthma in Kwinana just how lucky they are to live close to the industrial pollution that may have caused that asthma.

As stated in yesterdays blog post:

"Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said she cannot stress enough how lucky the Kwinana Community was to be in close proximity to the most important industrial area in Western Australia"

Interestingly also yesterday, this article on asthma research appeared in the West Australian newspaper:

"About 1 in 25 children admitted to hospital for asthma could be there as a result of inhaled particles from air pollution, government scientists have found"

Other posts on this subject include:

Particulate pollution in Kwinana, and the protection policy that is incapable of protecting.

I must be lucky to live next to Kwinana Industry

Because the Kwinana Mayor tells me so...

"Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said she cannot stress enough how lucky the Kwinana Community was to be in close proximity to the most important industrial area in Western Australia"

Kwinana Industries Council Advertisment in Sound Telegraph 17-03-2010

Oh but wait; what Mayor Adams fails to tell this community is that her husband is Chris Oughton who is Director of KIC (the chief spin doctor of Kwinana Industry) who is also quoted in this advertisement.

Therefore Kwinana Mayor I don't think you have the right to tell me how good living with all that industrial pollution is for me.

Whatever happened to reporting conflict of interest in our media?

BP Safety still under question

Another BP refinery in the US has recieved a fine for 'wilful' safety breaches:

"USA: BP fined again for 'wilful' safety breaches

The US government safety watchdog has fined British oil giant BP PLC $3 million (£2m), citing safety problems at its Toledo, Ohio, refinery. The move comes just four months after it imposed a record safety penalty on the company over its refinery in Texas (Risks 431). The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) said that it had cited the Toledo refinery, which is jointly owned by BP and Canada's Husky EnergyInc., with 42 alleged wilful violations and 20 alleged serious violations for exposing workers to safety hazards. The infractions stem from an OSHA investigation at Toledo that began last September. 'OSHA has found that BP often ignored or severely delayed fixing known hazards in its refineries,' Secretary of Labor Hilda L Solis said in a statement. 'There is no excuse for taking chances with people's lives. BP must fix the hazards now.' Last October, OSHA slapped an $87 million fine on BP, the largest in the agency's history, for failing to correct safety problems identified after the 2005 explosion at Texas City. BP said it was disappointed that OSHA had chosen to characterise the majority of its audit findings as wilful. The US regulator defines wilful violations as those committed with indifference to employee safety and health, and with intentional disregard for the law".
Story from: TUC in the UK

The appauling story of BP internationally can be found on Hazards Magazine.

An example of how we have been questioning the safety of the BP Kwinana Refinery can be found here, alternatively see the search of this blog for BP is here.

What do you think the chances are of BP Kwinana refinery ever being taken to task by our authorities?