Resource Library
In the News
- DG-HazMat HB76 Addendum
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Attached is a double-sided leaflet for insertion into the 2004 edition of the current Australian version HB76-2004. This has been prepared as an extract of the 2008 NZ only edition, providing Guide Numbers for those UN Numbers that are in ADG7 but not in the current HB76. It includes both instructions and restrictions on use.
This insert is being made freely available as a service to all Australian users of HB76 until a new joint Australia/New Zealand edition is published mid-2010. SNZ has authorised it to be loaded onto as many websites as possible - 'We donít mind how many.' (John Kelly - SNZ).
Please feel free to publicise this to all those who you know are involved in the transport of dangerous goods in Australia.
- Thirteen dead in gas explosion
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Two rail tankers filled with gas have exploded in a fireball after a derailment in the northern Italian city of Viareggio, engulfing nearby homes and killing 13 people.
The explosion came after one of the wagons in a 14-wagon train transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) came off the rails in the coastal city of 50,000 residents north-west of Pisa just before midnight.
The accident also injured 50 people, including 37 seriously, emergency authorities said. Two small buildings collapsed from the force of the explosion. "The cars flipped over on their sides on the rails and the gas spread out among the nearest houses before exploding." Small homes line the railway line and dozens were damaged within a radius of 300 metres from the train. Areas near the station were evacuated in case of further explosions and 300 firefighters from neighbouring regions were mobilised.
- Port Stanvac Refinery set for demolition
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The SA Government has given Mobil a decade to complete remediation of the 239 hectare site in relation to contamination of soils, the foreshore and groundwater.
The announcement has been made just days before a South Australian Government deadline for the company to decide on the site's future. The refinery was mothballed in 2003 and part of the site will be used for Adelaide's desalination plant.
"Through the Environment Protection Authority, the Government will be closely monitoring progress on the site and ensuring that all relevant standards are being met".
- State Sues BP Alleging Texas City Pollution
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BP could face more than $100 million in penalties for releasing pollutants into the air and failing to properly monitor equipment for leaks at its Texas City refinery. In a lawsuit, the Texas Attorney General alleges that the refinery violated environmental laws at least 46 times, starting with the March 2005 explosion which killed 15 people.
Source: Houston Chronicle, Business - Toxic Emission to City River
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An industrial site at Camellia will be forced to undertake major decontamination after the NSW DECC issued a formal notice over the property.
It is the fourth industrial site on the peninsula to be declared as being contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a human carcinogen and acute marine toxin. The original source of the contamination was reported to arise from an old chrome factory site which provided landfill for the industrial park.
- Waste oil practices cause tank explosion
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An enquiry examines why two persons were killed in a workplace explosion whilst welding on top of a 15 metre high waste oil tank.
- Underground tank - Practices
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The Department of Environment and Climate Change (DECC) has prepared guidelines to assist those responsible for UPSS to understand and comply with the new Regulation:
- Cool Store admits guilt over fatal explosion
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A cool store has pleaded guilty to three charges laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act following an explosion that killed a fire fighter and injured seven colleagues.
The legislation sets out the duties of employers regarding the safety of employees and others in and around the workplace.
A Fire Service report released nearly six months after the incident asserted that fire fighters did not know that the cool store used a highly flammable refrigerant, which contained about 95 per cent propane. It was reported that there were no signs warning that flammable gas was present nor was there a smell of gas before the explosion.
- Chemical deivery into 'WRONG' tank
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The consequences of mixing incompatible chemicals can be severe.
An accidental chemical reaction between sodium hydrosulfide solution and ferrous sulfate solution during a chemical tanker unloading incident generated toxic hydrogen sulphide gas.
The incident resulted in a fatality, a near fatality, evacuation of the plant and property damage in excess of USD 400 K.
Some risk controls include:
- Positively identify and confirm the specific chemical before transfer into any vessel.
- Provide appropriate unloading procedures and ensure delivery and plant personnel are trained, literate, numerate and understand.
- Be aware of potential hazardous reactions - use mutually exclusive connections to minimize mistakes.
- Clearly and unambiguously identify all connections, pipes and storage tanks.
Another similar incident which required evacuations involved delivering a phosphoric acid chemical brew into a sodium nitrite storage tank with adverse results.
- Methanol safe handling manual
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A resource for emergency first responders to increase awareness of the chemical and promote safe handling for workers, consumers, and the environment.
- Buncefield explosion mechanism
Phase 1 - Volumns 1 and 2 -
The Buncefield explosion resulted in tremendous damage to the outlying area and huge fires involving 23 large fuel tanks. One important aspect of the incident was the severity of the explosion, which would not have been anticipated in any major hazard assessment of the oil storage depot before the incident.
The Buncefield Major Incident Investigation Board (MIIB) invited explosion experts from academia and industry to form an Advisory Group to advise on the work that would be required to explain the severity of the Buncefield explosion.
The UK Health and Safety Executive have released the Phase 1 Report on the Explosion Mechanism Work.
- Removing single-use gloves
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Don't Contaminate Your Hands! The suggested technique is shown in the video and poster.
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