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Six miss weeks of work after Chemifloc spill


SIX of eight people hospitalised following a chemical spillage at Chemifloc in Shannon still hadn’t returned to work three weeks after the incident, according to a report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

 

The report also stated that the company stored materials incorrectly and failed to take proper steps to notify neighbouring businesses of the incident, which caused huge concern in the local community.

The EPA site inspection report was sent to Shannon Town Council, which held its monthly meeting on Tuesday.

An accompanying letter from regional enforcement manager, Peter Cunningham, outlined the parameters of the report and said it “does not make any assessment of the incident, in relation to the implications for public health”. However, it also said the Health and Safety Authority are carrying out a separate investigation.

The report was carried out by inspector John Doheny, who visited the Chemifloc plant on December 21, the morning after the incident.

His report, issued on January 10, stated, “At 16.57hrs on Thursday, 20 December, 2012, Fergal Gallagher rang this inspector to say that there had been an incident on site about 20 minutes earlier during the loading of a road tanker with sodium chlorite.

“The incident resulted in the release of chlorine/chlorine dioxide gas. The alarm had been raised and Chemifloc staff had been evacuated from the site and accounted for. They were waiting for the fire brigade to arrive at the time of the call. A fax notification of the incident was received by the EPA Cork office later that night.

“It subsequently transpired that eight Chemifloc employees were hospitalised following the incident, with five remaining in hospital over Christmas. The last employee affected was discharged from hospital on Friday, December 28, 2012. As of the date of issue of this report (January 10) two had returned to work.”

Mr Doheny’s report stated the problems arose when staff were preparing an order of sodium chlorite, moving intermediate bulk containers (IBCs).

“The first IBC of sodium chlorite was transferred to the tanker normally. However, when the second IBC was being decanted, a yellowish gas was emitted from the opening on the top of the tanker.

“The exact sequence of events after that is unclear. The main people involved had been admitted to hospital following the incident and were not available for interview. However, it was subsequently discovered that the second IBC contained dilute (9% w/w) hydrochloric acid (HCl) in an unmarked IBC.”

He also found that other businesses had been affected by the leak.

“As part of my investigation I visited three other premises in Smithstown Industrial Estate. I established to my satisfaction that gas emissions arising during the incident from the Chemifloc facility had extended beyond the site boundary and affected the activities of nearby businesses.”

The report also stated that the company was in non-compliance with some conditions of its licence, the terms of which state that there shall not be emissions to the atmosphere beyond specified limits and odour nuisances shall not be caused beyond the company’s site boundary.

While not being a matter of non-compliance he stated, “IBCs containing fluorosilicic acid and nitric acid were stored next to IBCs containing sodium chlorite and sodium hydroxide within the same bund.

Labelling was very poor on some of the IBCs containing acid. I was told that acid IBCs had been placed there that morning as a temporary measure.”

He called for a review of all storage and labelling procedures for IBCs within the facility. He also stated that all staff responsible for moving and storage of IBCs “must be trained to ensure that incompatible materials are properly stored”.

Mr Doheny found that the company’s emergency response procedure needs to take into account the effects of on-site incidents on businesses beyond the site boundary. The actions required are to be verified in subsequent inspections.

Tuesday night’s council meeting opted to delay discussion of the matter until they had a chance to fully digest the report.

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