Work shutdown at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital and investigation underway into cause of ‘explosion’ in basement car park
WORKER safety at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital site is again under investigation after an “explosion” in the basement car park of the $2.3 billion building.
WORKER safety at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital site is again under investigation after an “explosion” in the basement car park of the $2.3 billion building.
The state’s construction union says a build up of gas in a stormwater pit propelled a solid steel manhole cover more than 2m through the air this morning, damaging an overhead sprinkler system and stormwater control panel.
CFMEU assistant secretary Jim O’Connor said the stormwater lid weighed more than 100kg and that it was “lucky” nobody was working in the immediate vicinity of the explosion.
“They would’ve been killed any day,” he said.
“That’s got some fair force behind it. It’s left an impression in the ceiling above it.
“It’s also blown the electrical box off the wall. They’ve escaped a fatality I reckon.”
He said there were four employees working about five metres away when the explosion happened.
“They were pretty shaken when it went off; they thought the whole thing (building) was coming down,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the hospital’s builders HYLC confirmed an “incident” happened at 11.20am this morning in which the lid of a stormwater pit was “released at pressure” causing “minor damage”.
“The safety of workers in the new RAH site is paramount. In accordance with safety procedures, the area has been secured and work ceased in the area,” she said, adding that there were no injuries.
“HYLC Joint Venture has commenced internal investigations and is currently working with SafeWork SA to investigate this incident.”
Mr O’Connor questioned whether the pit had been emptied or if something had ignited inside the pit causing the “explosion”.
“There’s natural vents that release the gases.
“They know stormwater builds up it’s like a compost heap, what’s happened is something has ignited,” he said.
“It’s a freakish accident but this job (hospital development) is either jinxed or hoaxed.
“It seems to be one thing after another, that whole project has a cloud hanging over it.”