Above: CFA volunteer Adrian Bailey at the scene on Monday night.By Callan Date
NESTLE workers planned to return to work yesterday (Wednesday) following an ammonia leak at their Pakenham factory on Monday night.
The chemical scare resulted in the evacuation of up to 30 workers from the factory and surrounding businesses.
Seven Country Fire Authority (CFA) crews were called to the factory on Racecourse Road about 7.15pm after a ruptured hose was found to be leaking the toxic ammonia gas.
Nestle factory manager Raj Gopal said officials were focusing on making sure the area was safe before allowing workers back in.
Mr Gopal praised the efforts of Nestle’s own emergency response team (ERT) and other emergency crews in dealing with the ammonia leak.
“They (ERT) have all been trained and have the ability to make a determination to call for extra help if they deem to need it,” Mr Gopal said.
Four Nestle workers were taken to hospital, two on Monday night and two more the following morning, but were later released and were recovering at home, Mr Gopal said.
Two police members also required medical attention at the scene after complaining of light-headedness.
Pakenham Senior Sergeant Dave Kinghorn said a command centre was set up at the Pakenham train station car park to coordinate the emergency response.
“The on-site staff at Nestle had some trouble in containing the leak,” Sen Sgt Kinghorn said.
He said it took about four hours to safely contain the site.
Nestle workers were allowed back on the premises about 11.30pm, he said.
“The leak created an uncomfortable environment but all levels were monitored as safe,” he said.
Traffic was also disrupted for several hours with police closing the Station Street and Bald Hill Road area.
Pakenham CFA captain Vince Ingram said the highly toxic gas was regularly used for refrigeration at the factory.
Mr Ingram said Nestle’s ERT attempted to handle the situation but required further assistance and called the CFA.
“We were called about an hour and a half after the leak was discovered,” Mr Ingram said.
Several CFA units joined Dandenong Gas Detection and Hallam Hazmat crews to help with the different aspects of the emergency.
“Our last unit left the scene at about 1am,” Mr Ingram said.
Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and WorkSafe Victoria officials attended the scene and monitored the gas leak and clean-up procedure.
EPA spokesperson Ruth Ward said Nestle notified the agency on Monday night and officials would be conducting an investigation into the cause of the ammonia leak.
