Call for action after blast ‘near miss’ at hydro site

Shocked workers 300m underground 'did not know where to run' as blasting erupted just 30m beneath them at the Kidston hydro project, a union safety representative said. The CFMEU and ETU have called for employers to quickly fly those three workers home to their 'rattled' loved ones, saying they had continued working on site after the potentially fatal incident on February 23. CFMEU construction division workplace health and safety co-ordinator for regional Queensland and NT Mick Robinson said union representatives discovered in talks today with John Holland-McConnell Dowell that a further two people had been in the vicinity of the blast but had been sent home almost immediately afterwards. He said the union was calling for relevant work to shut down immediately for a safety reset at the construction project. The John Holland-McConnell Dowell joint venture is the principal contractor for the Genex Power project, being developed at the former Kidston gold mine site in North Queensland. "What should have happened after the incident at 5.15am on the 23rd of February, was that once those workers drove 300m up to surface after the detonation 30m below them, all work in the area should have stopped," Mr Robinson said. "Relevant government departments - whether it's the Department of Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, or Resources Safety and Health Queensland, both or either - should have been notified and then obviously the site preserved. "And it should have stayed preserved until there was an investigation done to make sure that all safe systems of work had been reset, and then full retraining for all workers on that immediate site and working underground and above where the near miss happened before any work continued. "Yet, there has been no inspection from any government departments as we speak." Blasting suspended for two days RSHQ said its inspectors were immediately in contact with the site and the blasting contractor after being notified of the incident to ensure that conditions were safe for work. "The site suspended blasting operations for two days until interim controls were in place, under the guidance of RSHQ," a spokeswoman said. "Our inspectors will travel to the site this week for further discussions. "Initial investigations show the clearance procedure that was undertaken to ensure all workers were clear in the tunnelling operations prior to blasting was not effective." She said RSHQ was examining the site’s blasting procedures and practices to ensure they complied with the Explosives Act 1999. However, general worker health and safety at the Kidston site falls under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which is administered by the Office of Industrial Relations. Project owner Genex Power said it had notified relevant regulatory authorities as soon as the company and its contracting partners became aware of the incident. "We take the safety of all our employees and contractors extremely seriously," the company said in a written statement on the incident. "The incident is under investigation, during which time we have been working closely with our contracting partners and the regulatory authorities. We cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing." Katter’s Australian Party leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter said the facts surrounding this incident were nothing short of astonishing. “It's astonishing that the companies involved, wouldn't themselves had made a bigger deal internally, including shutting the operations down until this was investigated,” Mr Katter said. “But it is equally astonishing that there's been no reprimand or reaction from the government until they were vigorously jerked into gear. “But further, it appears to me there seems to be a second set of rules for any of these renewable energy projects. There’s minimal scrutiny and approvals needed, it just seems like the approach is ‘don’t get in the way, we need to get this thing off the ground’.” Family members 'worried sick' Meanwhile, Mr Robinson said family members had been worried sick for the affected men on site. "They have obviously noticed a difference from the incident back on the 23rd and currently in regards to conversations they've had with them. I'm not a doctor or a psychologist, but they've obviously gone through a process of shock to where they are now with anger and anxiety, et cetera, and yet haven't been hooked up (with assistance) 10 days later." He said the matter had only come to light after family repeatedly contacted the Department of Workplace Health and Safety - Office of Industrial Relations from February 24 onwards in addition to RSHQ last week. "It wasn't until they contacted my Townville office at about quarter to two on Wednesday afternoon that I or the CFMEU were even aware that there was such a serious incident within 350km of us," he said. Mr Robinson said that the workers had confirmed their ‘cards were on the wall’ and vehicle numbers were logged when the incident occurred. “It should have been known they were still down there,” he said. Image at top of page: A file picture of the powerhouse cavern excavated for the Kidston pumped hydro project.

Call for action after blast ‘near miss’ at hydro site

Industry Queensland

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