Newcastle ammonium nitrate: Expert says 40,000 people in blast zone
An explosives expert has warned 40,000 people could be in the blast zone if 12,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored just 3kms from Newcastle were to explode, saying the blast would be four times that of Beirut.
NSW
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The tragic explosion in Beirut caused by a stockpile of the explosive ammonium nitrate has renewed concerns over a Newcastle stockpile four times the size of Beirut’s.
Explosives expert and Novocastrian Tony Richards has been campaigning against the stockpile, which sits just 3kms from the CBD, for years.
He says the blast from an accident at the plant could level the city.
“The problem is the storage they’ve got in Newcastle, which is up to 12,000 tonnes, is such that it’s in the scope of causing absolute disaster if something goes wrong,” Mr Richards said.
“What we saw in Beirut is a fraction of what could happen in Newcastle … we are looking at at least four times the amount in Beirut,” he said.
The storage facility in Newcastle is operated by Orica, one of the world’s largest providers of explosives to the mining industry.
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The Daily Telegraph understand’s Orica stores on average between 6,000 and 12,000 tonnes at the facility, which also produces the compound.
A spokesperson for SafeWork said the facility is only permitted to store 11,000 tonnes.
“Premises that store significant quantities of ammonium nitrate are classified as Major Hazard Facilities and are subject to regulation and oversight by way of a whole of government approach by SafeWork NSW, the Environment Protection Authority, NSW Police and the Department of Planning,” the spokesman said.
“SafeWork NSW also conducts periodic spot checks via its post licence verification programs, throughout the licence term. Environment protection licences for these facilities also include strict conditions to manage risks to the environment and human health, including regular inspections of all licensed premises to ensure compliance with licence conditions.”
Mr Richards said he has no doubt Orica is a safe company, and has worked with them in the past, however the explosives expert says such a high stockpile in a residential area is an accident waiting to happen.
A spokesperson for Orica said there is no possibility of an explosion happening in Newcastle.
“Ammonium Nitrate (AN) is not an explosive. It is an inert substance. You have to be extremely negligent with AN for it to explode,” a spokesman said.
“An storage areas at Kooragang Island are fire resistant and built exclusively from nonflammable materials. There are no flammable sources within designated exclusion zones around these areas,” he said.
Orica told The Daily Telegraph there have been no ammonium nitrate incidents at the plant.
Mr Richards told The Daily Telegraph he is so concerned about the facility, that he has warned his friends and family to get out of the city if they ever hear of a fire at the storage facility.
“If something goes wrong, with that sort of tonnage there are more than 40,000 Novocastrians living within the blast zone,” Mr Richards said.
“That stockpile is within 3km from the centre of Newcastle, to me it is absolutely ridiculous no matter how well prepared they are, it is not a product that should be stored anywhere near populated areas,” Mr Richards said.
“We wouldn’t accept the storing of heavy duty shells for the army … we wouldn‘t accept that in an built up area so why are we accepting this?”
Charlotte McCabe who lives in nearby Tighes Hill and is involved in her community action group, said she believes the plant is too much of a risk, and should be moved.
“It’s unlikely something would happen, but accidents do happen and we feel very strongly the precaution needs to be take,” Ms McCabe said.
“The event if it were to occur would be catastrophic and we don’t understand why that risk is being taken with our lives,” she said.
Local Keith Craig from the Stockton Resident Action Group said he became concerned by the large amounts of ammonium nitrate in Newcastle in 2001, when there was a disaster in France caused by the compound.
In Toulouse 31 were killed and thousands injured when a warehouse containing ammonium nitrate exploded.
“Even though they are storing it to high standards, it only takes one accident and the outcome is catastrophic, the risk is too high” Mr Craig said.
“We want to get those storage levels as low as possible … and move the plant closer to the coal mines where they are used,” he said.
Most of the ammonium nitrate produced and stored in Newcastle is used for mining explosives in the Hunter Valley.
Locals like Mr Craig are also concerned that trucks transporting the compound may crash and mix with fuel, which can cause large explosions.
A truck carrying ammonium nitrate caught fire in Queensland in 2014, and exploded after the driver was rescued.
The truck was carrying 50 tonnes of the compound and the blast destroyed nearby cars and the railway, as well as flattening trees.
The explosion was said to be heard 30km away.
Originally published as Newcastle ammonium nitrate: Expert says 40,000 people in blast zone
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