BY EMILY WILLIAMS
Stockton residents are calling for Orica's ammonium nitrate storage facility on Kooragang Island to be moved, amidst growing concerns of a potential explosion.
The Stockton Community Group has made a submission to the NSW Government's review of how and where ammonium nitrate is stored.
The Government is proposing changes to licensing policies for facilities storing over 2,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which would see a standard separation distance from populated areas and infrastructure introduced.
The Newcastle facility, built in the late 1960s, is located less than a kilometre from homes, which Stockton Community Group spokesperson, Keith Craig says is too high a risk.
"We've got black swan events and we know there can be accidents that can't be planned for, and to have that sort of volume so close to communities and in the middle of Newcastle CBD is just not acceptable," he said.
On average, Orica's plant stores between 6,000 and 12,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
A 2020 explosion in a storage facility holding 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in Lebanon's capital Beirut, led to the deaths of 218 people and injured a further 7,000.
Stockton residents fear the same could happen here, but on a much larger scale, and are calling on the Government to adopt a policy similar to that of Western Australia.
It would see a maximum of 200 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored on Kooragang Island at any one time, minimising the risk of an explosion.
"Of course, even 200 tonnes, like we've seen in Toulouse (France), can create many injuries and deaths," said Mr Craig.
After the Beirut explosion, a petition calling for the relocation of Orica's ammonium nitrate plant had over 15,000 signatures.
Across the globe, there have been more than ten ammonium nitrate explosions since 2000.
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| Image credit: Orica. |
