THE emergency response to a chemical leak at the Murray Goulburn milk factory in Leongatha last Wednesday was swift and, according to site manager Gavin Russell, satisfactory.
The incident occurred at about 10.30am when a small amount of pressurised nitric acid sprayed onto hot steam pipes, causing the acid to vapourise and form a small vapour cloud.
There were no operators in the area,” said Mr Russell. “We isolated the acid line and then commenced our internal emergency response plan.”
Two workers put on breathing equipment and entered the area to wash it down with water.
“To be absolutely sure we called the fire brigade to do a final check on air quality,” said Mr Russell.
Police and ambulance officers attended as well as the CFA, but no-one, said Mr Russell, required treatment, though several staff members were checked.
The factory remained fully operational apart from the affected area in the CT12 building, which supplies dryer number 3.
The EPA also attended to make sure there were no issues with the clean-up.
“It was a very small leak, the result of a join on the line having given way. It has since been fixed. We are happy with our emergency response and happy with the response from the CFA, police and the EPA,” concluded Mr Russell.
Foster.vic.au feed
Discussion
Comments are disallowed for this post.
Comments are closed.