Tom HAYES and Liam DURKIN
EMERGENCY services were called to Tanjil South cattle slaughterhouse, Greenham Gippsland, on Tuesday, October 8, following an ammonia leak.
“At 12.53pm, Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) was called to an incident on Moe-Walhalla Road at Tanjil South after a call to Triple Zero (000) reported a substance leaking at a business premises,” an FRV spokesperson said.
Greenham Group General Manager, Tom Maguire explained the incident, saying it was caused by damage to a plate freezer on site.
“It’s a bone-in-meat product that pierced the plate, and some refrigerant gas escaped when it was dislodged,” he said.
Mr Maguire described it as like piercing a tire.
“We’ve got systems in place and we try to prevent this from ever happening, a very rare event,” Mr Maguire said.
Detectors at the Gippsland site are set to low levels, so when ammonia is detected, employees can evacuate before they are seriously harmed. All systems are enclosed and kept away from people according to Mr Maguire.
This is the first occurrence of an ammonia leak at the Gippsland site.
“Ammonia is a natural gas, but it is highly concentrated in liquid form, it’s a very efficient refrigerant,” Mr Maguire explained.
“At high levels it can create significant breathing difficulties and make it difficult for the body to get the oxygen it needs.”
Police were witnessed on the scene, as well as multiple fire trucks and ambulances. Firefighters remained on the scene throughout the day.
“CFA firefighters also attended the incident. Firefighters arrived on scene and began to make the scene safe. FRV hazmat specialists attended this incident,” the FRV spokesperson said.
“Six people were being treated by Ambulance Victoria and Victoria Police were also on scene.”
It has been reported that two people were taken to Latrobe Regional Health for further treatment. Mr Maguire told the Gippsland Farmer that everyone is “safe and well”.
He extended his thanks to the emergency services that attended the call out.
“Fortunately we didn’t need too much help from lots of people, but with the police, ambulance service and the fire people were fantastic,” he said.
FRV told Gippsland Farmer that the EPA, WorkSafe and Health Inspector were all contacted.
The freezers on-site were repaired and certified to function by an independent contractor. The scene was deemed under control just before 3pm, and operation resumed the following day (Wednesday, October 9).
