A chemical leak on board a container ship at Sydney's Port Botany has now been made safe.

The German-registered 34,600-tonne California Senator docked on Monday morning from Fremantle with a 1000-litre storage drum leaking nitric acid in the hold.

The ship's captain had called ahead on Sunday to warn authorities.

Firefighters scrambled aboard about 1am (AEST) to decant the contents of the drum and contain the leak.

"The container of nitric acid has now been made safe," Superintendent Ian Krimmer, from Fire and Rescue NSW, said on Monday afternoon.

"One ruptured container inside was located.

"Contents have all been emptied, all the contaminated products have been removed by a contractor.

INVESTIGATIONS have begun into what went wrong during a science experiment that left two Tumbarumba High School students with facial burns yesterday.
A boy and girl, both 15, suffered superficial burns after an explosion involving a Bunsen burner about 9.30am.

The pair were in a stable condition at Wagga Base Hospital last night.

NSW Education Department spokesman Grant Hatch said the explosion happened during a year 9, period one class.

The students were undertaking a practical science lesson supervised by an experienced teacher, he said.

A crucible being heated on a Bunsen burner by a group of three students exploded, injuring two students.

The teacher and other staff immediately applied first aid until paramedics arrived.

The Southcare helicopter was called but was not needed.

Mr Hatch said instructions for the experiment were provided on the board and in a textbook.

Measured chemicals were provided to each group by the teacher.

Mr Hatch did not know what chemicals were involved.

The school was continuing investigations into the cause. Police were also on the scene.

“Inquiries are continuing but unless there’s some kind of criminal activity the investigation will be handed to WorkCover,” Albury Insp John Wadsworth said.

A fire investigator and WorkCover inspector were at the school yesterday afternoon conducting a preliminary investigation into the explosion.

Mr Hatch said students and teachers would be provided counselling.

He said the school was not severely damaged by the explosion but that the lab had been shut to allow for a clean-up.

A BACKYARD father and son chemical experiment has backfired, with the teenage boy left with serious burns to his hands.

The 14-year-old and his father were trying to recreate tests the boy had learnt in the school science laboratory in the garden of their Springhall Pde home in Pascoe Vale South.

But the chemicals exploded just before noon and the boy suffered full thickness burns to both hands.

The police, MFB and paramedics were called to the home, with the MFB’s scientific officer called to advise on the handling and disposal of the volatile chemicals.

Magnesium, one of the main chemicals they had been playing with, reacts explosively with other agents and the intense fire it creates cannot be extinguished with water.

The boy was taken to the Royal Children's Hospital burns unit in a serious condition.

A police spokeswoman said it was not a criminal matter and police would not be investigating.

Residents at about 30 homes in the Newcastle suburb of Carrington were forced to stay indoors on Saturday night (AEST) after a gas leak at Graincorp.

The New South Wales Fire and Rescue Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) unit was called to the Graincorp Carrington terminal just before 7pm (AEST)

About 100 kilograms of the gas methyl bromide leaked from a canister, while staff were fumigating at the site.

A Graincorp spokesman says while the gas is commonly used to kill pests and bugs, a leak of this kind is uncommon.

A section of Shell's southern Victorian oil refinery has been shut down following a chemical leak.

About 20 firefighters were called to the plant at Corio, southwest of Melbourne, about 11pm (AEST) on Saturday when super-heated flammable sand, used in fuel production, began leaking from a pipe.

Part of the plant was shut down and roads in the vicinity closed as a precaution while authorities responded to the leak, Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokesman Ian Beswicke said.

The area was declared safe about 2am and air monitoring equipment was used to confirm that no dangerous substances had escaped from the refinery.

Toll Tasmania has taken back control of its transport yard on Hobart's waterfront after a $1 million fire this morning.

The blaze broke out in a warehouse, igniting shipping containers filled with chemicals and foam.

Toxic fumes forced the evacuation of more than six-hundred people.

Some workers were treated at the scene after inhaling the potentially toxic fumes.

The blaze engulfed a shed, several chemical-filled shipping containers and two forklifts.

The Fire Service estimates the blaze has caused $1.2 million damage.

Fire officer Stuart Males says the fire was started by a worker who was using a heat torch near pallets wrapped in plastic.

"It would appear that they used heat perhaps in the form of a blow torch type thing to actually undertake the shrinking process of the packaging," he said.

"Somehow that has caused a spark to ignite some of the material that was being packed."

Investigations are continuing into Friday night's chemical scare that led to the Emergency Department at the Calvary Mater Hospital being evacuated and decontaminated.

A 32-year-old Lambton man drank a quantity of the substance sodium azide and was taken by ambulance from Newcastle University to the Mater, where he later died.

Ambulance Officers union spokesman Peter Rumball says two paramedics were among several workers who had to be decontaminated.

"The Hazmat decontaminated them and they were allowed to go home," he said.

"The have since recovered but it just highlights the jobs of ambulance officers across the State, simply going to respond to someone that's ill they could become a victim themselves."

Mr Rumball says the chemical, which is extremely toxic, is used in bio-medical experiments and as an insecticide.

"It can be quite dangerous," he said.

"It can be lethal if it's ingested or absorbed.

"That's why the full decontamination process was put in place at the Mater Hospital to deal with that, to protect not only the patient but members of the nursing staff, doctors and the ambulance officers."

The emergency department at Newcastle's Mater Hospital had to be evacuated overnight after a man who had ingested a dangerous chemical was brought in.
Police say the 32 year old man had swallowed the chemical in the science laboratories at Newcastle University.
Concerns were raised about the volatility of the chemical and the Fire Brigade's Hazmat unit was called in.
Police Inspector Michael Gorman says a number of people who were in contact with the patient had to be decontaminated.
"Police and Hazmat and fire brigade attended the emergency department at the Mater Hospital," he said.
"They took steps to isolate the patient, close the emergency department to any more incoming patients and a partial evacuation of the emergency department as carried out until such time as Hazmat was satisfied that the area was safe.
The emergency department was re-opened just after 2 am (AEST) this morning.
Inspector Gorman says the area was decontaminated before being re-opened.
"The toxicologist was brought in both to treat the male patient but also to liaise with the HAZMAT staff in terms of the air quality and any possible contamination to any persons who had come into contact with the male during the course of the evening," he said.
"After those discussions the all clear was given, the area was decontaminated and the emergency department re-opened at approximately 2am."
The 32 year old man died early this morning.

A toxic chemical explosion that sparked the evacuation of a university building has been cleaned up.

A corrosive combination of sulphuric, nitric and hydrochloric acids exploded in a cupboard in the University of Queensland's chemical building on Friday morning, the Department of Community Safety says.

The leaking chemical fumes sparked the evacuation of staff and students from the nine-storey building in St Lucia, in Brisbane's inner west.

A DCS spokesman says firefighters have cleaned up the site and atmospheric tests show the area is safe.

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy has serious burns after larking about with chemicals which exploded in an empty Moura building on Tuesday.

The youth received burns to 30% of his body after he and other youngsters broke into the Moura Memorial Hall in Bell St, trashed it and tried to set it on fire.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said the group entered the building and was playing with chemicals before leaving the premises just before midday after the explosion.

PORTLAND recreational anglers have been grounded for the start of the tuna season while a chemical leak is handled at the town's port area.
The Country Fire Authority today said it was still not 100 per cent safe for boats to launch at the Port of Portland, due to the ongoing hazardous materials incident at the Koppers facility.

ONE lane of the Pacific Highway near Port Macquarie was closed for more than six hours following a two-truck accident this morning.
Police re-opened the south-bound lane shortly before 3pm.

Some 450 litres of diesel leaked onto the roadway and an embankment after the 8.30am crash near Houston Mitchell Drive.

Authorities first rushed to the scene after reports a tanker had overturned and split, threatening to leak chemicals into a nearby drainway at Lake Innes.

But the load was, in fact, raw sugar.

A chemical spill at a storage plant in Portland, which forced residents indoors, is expected to keep the port closed on Monday.

The port in Victoria's southwest, which caters for fertilisers, grains and woodchip, as well as the huge Alcoa smelter, will have a skeleton staff until the leak is plugged.

Twenty five firefighters have been working to contain the leak, which spilled from a storage tank at the liquid pitch facility at the port.

Residents were told that they should call an ambulance if they could smell vapours with a smell like hot bitumen and were experiencing headaches or shortness of breath.

RESIDENTS in Portland have been told to stay indoors and close their windows following a chemical spill.

The CFA said smoke is coming from the leak in the town’s northwest.

The leak began shortly before 3pm on Saturday.

Firefighters, including a Hazmat unit from Warrnambool, are working to contain the leak of liquid pitch, used to produce asphalt, at an industrial plant at the port.

By 5pm 250 tonnes of the liquid had spilled, which has all been contained.

Sixty people were evacuated from a major hospital in Melbourne's north-east as firefighters struggled to contain a chemical spill.

Workers on the entire sixth floor of the Harold Stokes building at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg were forced to leave the premises about 9.30am in the wake of a formaldehyde leak in a pathology lab.

Formaldehyde is a pungent-smelling and highly toxic gas that can cause death if inhaled in large quantities.

Hospital spokeswoman Taryn Sheehy said that no one was injured and no patients were affected by the fumes. "It wasn't a serious breach ... essentially it's an incident we have dealt with," Ms Sheehy said.

Police and emergency services were called to Camperdown this afternoon following reports of an explosion in a chemical laboratory.

Officers attached to Newtown Local Area Command have been told a 28-year-old Abbotsbury man suffered burns to 35 per cent of his body on his neck, back, arms and legs when a substance ignited about 5.30pm.

A Careflight helicopter was sent to the university but the man was transferred to Concord Hospital by road ambulance after being treated at the scene by Paramedics.

A number of students were evacuated without problems from the lab and surrounding rooms.

There was minimal damage to the lab.

Work will continue overnight to contain an oil spill at Shell's Clyde refinery in western Sydney.

An unknown amount of a petroleum-based product spilled into Duck Creek at Clyde around 4pm (AEDT) on Wednesday after an overflow at the oil refinery.

Recent heavy rainfall meant the storm water overflow system was unable to contain all of the rain water, causing an overflow, a Shell spokesman said.

"Unfortunately, the overflow material contained oil," the spokesman said in a statement.

A WOMAN has been taken to hospital with minor acid burns after a chemical spill at a Wattle Grove school.

Shortly after noon today firefighters from Liverpool and the Hazardous Material Unit from Chester Hill were called to a chemical spill at the St Marks Coptic College on Australis Ave.

An Ambulance NSW spokeswoman confirmed a woman, aged in her 50s, suffered acid burns to an arm and leg.

The exposure of two electricians to toxic chemicals at a Civic office building will be investigated by ACT work safety authorities.
Meanwhile, unions described the incident as ''extremely concerning'' and raised fears other older buildings could be contaminated.

The two workers were hospitalised after being sprayed with fluid when a light fitting they were replacing exploded in the computer room on the eighth floor of Canberra House.

The fluid was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a toxic chemical that can cause skin rashes and, in severe cases, damage to the liver and nervous system.

Both electricians were taken to Canberra Hospital for monitoring.

The Electrical Trade Union told The Canberra Times that PCBs have not been used in light fittings for decades.

The union said it was deeply concerned by yesterday's incident, and the union's NSW-ACT assistant secretary Neville Betts demanded the owner of Canberra House search light fittings throughout the rest of the 11-storey building.

Mr Betts also said a broader investigation into other old buildings around the ACT might be necessary.

The contaminated liquid should have been identified during major campaigns to remove PCBs from buildings in the 1980s and 1990s, he said.

BROADWATER Sugar Mill was evacuated yesterday afternoon after some of the highly-toxic metal mercury was spilt.

At 2.30pm yesterday, NSW Fire and Rescue rushed to the Pacific Hwy mill where a large amount of mercury had leaked out of a container.

A NSW Fire and Rescue spokesman confirmed that HAZMAT personnel had cleaned up 900 ml of mercury that had spilled outside the factory.

It's believed the spill occurred when a container of mercury was dropped, the spokesman said.

Five other "older" containers of mercury were also collected by the HAZMAT crew and placed in a hazardous material bin and handed back to the mill to deal with.

A government guide to cleaning-up mercury declares a spill larger than two tablespoons as "large" because of the increased risk of mercury vapour exposure during the clean up.

LOCAL firefighters are begging residents to leave drums found along the beach well alone after a hazardous materials scare at Mullawarra Beach this week.

Woolgoolga firefighters, Hazmat crews from Coffs Harbour and paramedics were called to Arrawarra Beach R about 7.10pm Monday after reports of a suspicious drum in the car park at the beach.

"It turned out to be a drum that had gone overboard from a ship a very long time ago," station commander Ray Webb said.

The 25 litre drum, property of the Wilhelmsen Ship Service in the Netherlands, was filled with the chemical Rocor NB Liquid - a nitrate/borate based compound used as a cooling inhibitor on ships.

"It is toxic is swallowed and can cause severe irritations to the skin. It's also highly toxic to waterways," Mr Webb said.

The ACT Fire Brigade and ACT Workcover both raised concerns about shoddy equipment and poor work safety practices by a Mitchell hazardous waste treatment company before last year's explosive chemical fire, according to documents released under Freedom of Information.
The documents also reveal the highly toxic nerve gas phosgene were detected in the fire's smoke plume, but emergency response crews had ''no capacity to test for larger exposure to chemicals''.

Last September, a massive chemical fire engulfed the Energy Services Invironmental waste treatment plant in Dacre Street, which was licensed by the ACT Environment Protection Agency to treat electrical transformer oil contaminated with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (known as PCBs). It hurled fireballs up to 200m above the burning building, and sent a dense plume of acrid black smoke billowing across Canberra's skyline.

A FACTORY stocked with hazardous chemicals burst into flames last night in what was the second fire on the premises in a week.

The inferno reached about 30 metres into the air and destroyed the entire 3,500 square metre building on Christie Street, St. Marys after starting about 12.30am.

The factory worked reconditioning drums filled with flammable chemicals and acids.

NSW Fire Department is investigating the incident after last night's blaze was the second fire at the business in a week.

FOUR canisters holding a toxic chemical, that is fatal if inhaled, were found dumped beside the Calder Alternate Highway at Ravenswood yesterday.
Police set up a 100-metre exclusion zone around the canisters and blocked the highway in both directions.

County Fire Authority biohazard officers, wearing full gas suits with breathing apparatus, placed the canisters and chemical that had spilled onto the ground in recovery buckets around 4pm.

CFA operations officer Alun Hughson confirmed the damaged canisters contained the pesticide fumitoxin used to control rabbits.

He said the dangerous canisters were likely to have been dumped.

Five houses in Bowraville were evacuated after a toxic chemical was spilt at Norco Rural Store on Carbin Street, on the afternoon of January 11.
The spill was contained inside the building, but created a “vapour cloud”, said acting captain of the Bowraville Fire Brigade Max Duncan.

The chemical was a highly toxic pesticide.

“Members of Fire and Rescue NSW attended with breathing apparatus and chemical spill suits on. They entered the building to clean up the spill, and it was placed in a HAZMAT recovery bin,” Mr Duncan said.

RESIDENTS at six homes in Bowraville evacuated this afternoon after a chemical spill at the town's Norco Co-op.

NSW Fire and Rescue crews established a command post near the building in Carbin St around 2.30pm, as firefighters worked to contain the spill. 

Firefighters on scene confirmed no staff were injured although two people were decontaminated.

Initial reports to police indicated a bottle of the chemical exploded on the floor of the store after it was dropped.   

Police from Macksville and Bowraville were tasked to help residents evacuate from six nearby homes.

The chemical was a toxic pesticide, which is harmful to humans.  

The emergency response to the situation has since been downscaled

Chemical giant Orica says static electricity is the most likely cause of another fire from a stack at its Newcastle plant overnight.
Hydrogen gas is being vented from a stack at the plant as part of its start-up procedure, with the gas igniting for the second time in three days.
Lighting caused a fire from the stack on Sunday night.
Orica site manager Sean Winstone says there is no risk to the community or the environment.
He says the fire is now out, but there is an ongoing chance that the gas could ignite as the start-up process continues.
Just before 9:30pm (AEDT) residents were sent a text message from Orica saying gas discharge from the stack had reignited but the plant and community were safe.
Despite Orica's assurances, residents have told the ABC they still have concerns about the problem plague plant.

A bolt of lightning has caused a fire at the problem-plagued Orica chemical plant in the New South Wales Hunter.

Lightning struck a stack of the Kooragang Island ammonia plant that was venting hydrogen, shortly after 10:00pm on Sunday.

Representatives from Orica and the Environmental Protection Authority are at the scene trying to extinguish the blaze.

The plant was re-opened last week, after it was closed late last year when it leaked the carcinogen hexavalent chromium.

Parts of the North West Coastal Highway have been closed after a chemical spill.

A truck carrying liquid methanol sustained a leaking valve north of Binnu, in the Shire of Northampton.

If methanol touches the skin it can cause poisoning.

A CROOKWELL man was flown to a Sydney hospital on Saturday after he ingested an agricultural chemical. Ambulance and police were called to the Crookwell home at 8am.
Police said the 58-year-old had swallowed a highly toxic organophosphate He was initially taken to Crookwell Hospital. That town’s fire brigade were called to the hospital to decontaminate the emergency clinic.

Goulburn Fire Brigade station officer Daron Lesslie said it was treated as a hazardous materials incident as the man was sweating the substance from skin pores.

He was conveyed to Goulburn Base Hospital for treatment at the emergency department. Goulburn Brigade was also called in to decontaminate the room and equipment.

The department was closed for a short time while they did so, SO Lesslie said. Police said yesterday the man was in a stable condition in Prince of Wales Hospital.

West Australian police have busted their 179th clandestine drug lab for the year, and arrested six men.

The lab was discovered in a suburban home in Kewdale, in Perth's southeast, early on Tuesday morning.

The lab is one of seven uncovered in the past six days and the 179th busted by WA Police this year, police say.

Last year, police uncovered 163 clandestine labs.

FIREFIGHTERS are working to contain a chemical leak in Melbourne's east.

A Melbourne Fire Brigade spokesman said about 1000 litres of hypochlorite had leaked at the SCA Hygiene factory in Box Hill South.

He said the leak was contained to a controlled area in a basement of the building and did not pose any threat to nearby homes.

Hazmat teams and eight fire trucks were on site after they received the first calls around 11.40pm.

Hypochlorite is listed as a common ingredient in bleach, disinfectant and common cleaning products.

A fire has destroyed part of a chemistry laboratory at the Australian National University (ANU).

Emergency authorities were called to the fire around 1:00pm AEDT to find the Birch Building filled with smoke, and a room on the third level ablaze.

It is believed the fire started during science experiments in a fume cupboard, before spreading into the roof.

Fire and Rescue Commander Danny Brighenti says initial fire fighting efforts were hampered because it was unclear whether chemicals were present.

The company responsible for a toxic gas cloud at Wangaratta, in north-eastern Victoria, says it has engaged a number of experts to investigate the cause of the incident.

At least 100 people were evacuated from their homes overnight and a number of people became ill when a combination of paint-making chemicals produced the cloud.

Nuplex Resins has reassured staff and local residents the area is now safe.

The regional president of Nuplex, Sam Bastounas, says operations at the site have been suspended pending a full investigation.

A TERRITORY lifeguard copped burns to his face and one arm after the chlorine mix he was making exploded, and caused the pool to be evacuated.

The 25-year-old man was taken to Alice Springs Hospital after police, firies and ambulance crews received reports of the incident about 10.30am Sunday.

St John Ambulance's Simon Cooper said the man sustained minor injuries, consistent with chemical burns.

Alice Springs fire station officer John Pyper said there'd been a chemical reaction with chlorine that was being mixed to go into the 50m pool at the town's aquatic centre.

"The amount of product that was involved was very small. We had two fire fighters in breathing apparatus - they dropped the product into the Olympic-sized pool."

The town pool in Alice Springs had to be evacuated yesterday following a chemical explosion.

Just before half-past ten yesterday morning, a staff member was mixing chlorine and water in a bucket, when it suddenly exploded.

Everyone from the pool had to be evacuated as a safety precaution.

The 25-year-old employee was taken to Alice Springs Hospital in a satisfactory condition.

John Piper from Alice Springs Fire Station says the explosion was a result of incorrect mixing procedures.

Topics: workplace, alice-springs-0870

An acid spill at Orica's Port Kembla chemical plant was the latest in a decade-long series of breaches, it has been revealed.
Nearly 4000 litres of sulphuric acid were found leaking from the Foreshore Rd Plant on Friday, triggering an angry response from the NSW Government and fresh public scrutiny of the beleaguered chemical maker.

The incident was the sixth at Orica since its Kooragang Island plant showered carcinogenic chemicals over the Newcastle suburb of Stockton in August.

However, a wider analysis of pollution records shows Friday's incident was the 148th licence breach at the Port Kembla site since 2000.

A TRUCK rollover in the Pilbara overnight closed a section of Great Northern Highway overnight 80km north of Newman.

Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said the triple road-train carrying LPG and chlorine gas bottles rolled about 8.30pm on the highway 80km north of Newman.

She said a HAZMAT team, police personnel and FESA workers were sent to the crash as chlorine gas is extremely poisonous.

An ambulance was also on standby, but no injuries have been reported.

A package of potent curry powder forced the evacuation of a western Sydney mail centre last night, the ABC has reported.

According to the ABC a number of postal workers were overcome with sore throats, coughing and wheezing after examining the package about 7.30pm.

Hazmat, fire and rescue teams, police and paramedics were called to the scene.

About 150 workers were evacuated from the centre as specialists wearing breathing apparatus examined the parcel.

But what was feared to be a chemical attack turned out to be a pack of particularly spice curry powder.

IRE crews worked for close to an hour fighting a blaze at a chemical factory in Dandenong South on the weekend.

The fire which sent plumes of thick black smoke across the south east is believed to have ignited in a mixing area of the Kitchen Rd factory.

About 70 per cent of the factory was destroyed with CFA crews able to stop the fire from spreading into office, laboratory and storage areas.

There were no injuries with all staff evacuated when the fire got out of control.

About 20,000 litres of a low hazard substance have spilled on to the ground at the Orica plant near Newcastle this afternoon, prompting a quick reaction by emergency services.

The dilute ammonium nitrate solution, which has been described as being equivalent to garden fertiliser, overflowed from a tank at the plant this afternoon, a spokesman from the Environmental Protection Authority said.

Fire and Rescue HAZMAT crews and NSW Ambulance attended the scene and crews are assisting Orica with the clean-up.

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The incident comes a day after the Office of Environment and Heritage allowed Orica to restart part of the Kooragang Island plant responsible for an ammonia leak last month.

Sport and Fitness Centre has been closed indefinitely and will need a completely new roof after results of an air quality examination revealed levels of asbestos.
Howzat, which has been closed since the building was evacuated last Thursday, said yesterday it would remain shut until at least January 2012.

The gym’s thousands of patrons have been told their memberships will be ‘‘put on hold’’ and Howzat plans to postpone all amateur sporting competitions and refund money paid by teams to use the building’s indoor facilities.

As a precaution, an assessment of several other businesses in the Cooks Hill Commercial Centre will begin today.

A TRUCK carrying 30 tonnes of ammonium nitrate has caught fire and is burning on a north Queensland road.

Authorities have set up a 1km exclusion zone around the truck, which has been burning since about 3pm (AEST), on the Suttor Development Road at Fort Cooper, northwest of Nebo, a Department of Community Safety spokesman said.

Authorities are waiting for the fire to burn out, and police say they expect the road to be closed for some time.

A chemical spill from a 25,000 litre freight train has closed down a railway station north of Sydney.
Emergency services were called to Morisset station just before 11am today, after track workers noticed chemical leaking out of a private freight train, Inspector Chris Sedgwick from Fire and Rescue NSW said.
The tanker is leaking sodium hypochlorite, a chemical normally used for cleaning, at a rate of about five litres per minute.
But Inspector Sedgwick said it was not yet known how much has spilled out so far.
The spill did not pose a risk to nearby residents as there was no vapour cloud, he said.

New South Wales Environment Minister Robyn Parker has called for an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) report into a chemical spill at Port Kembla yesterday.

The Minister says the incident occurred at the BlueScope recycling facility, contracted to Violia.

A drum carrying waste chemicals was damaged by a forklift, exposing a worker to the fumes.

Fire and rescue crews wore protective suits as they contained and cleaned up the spill.

Fire station commander Darin Sullivan says the chemical does not pose a risk to the public.

"It's one of those things where normal household chemicals have been put into rubbish by the looks of it and that's caused some troubles within the materials that it's been thrown out with," he said.

PATRONS of a Surry Hills pub were evacuated yesterday after a suspected cyanide leak.

Police, ambulance and the firebrigade were called to the Schwartz Brewery Hotel following the discovery of a man's body in an upstairs room.

The man was found at about 2pm and initial enquiries led police to believe that he had ingested sodium cyanide.

The threat arose from a number of chemical items found in the upstairs room.

By 4.30pm the building had been cleared by hazardous materials officers and there was no risk of contagion.

Hazardous materials crews have rushed to a Spring Hill recycling plant after a forklift punctured a drum of an unknown substance.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews from Wollongong, Warrawong and Unanderra, along with a Hazmat crew from Shellharbour are on scene at the Springhill Rd plant.

Fire and Rescue NSW Inspector Jay Bland said one man was believed to have been exposed to the substance after the forklift punctured a large drum, which was inside a building.

Firefighters in full protective gear entered the building earlier this afternoon but are awaiting a specialist team from Sydney to determine what the substance is.

Paramedics have reported the exposed man was taken by security guards to a medical centre where was being treated.

(AP)  SYDNEY — Australian environment officials ordered Orica Ltd., the world's largest explosives maker, to shut down one of its plants Thursday, a day after the company was charged over a gas leak that exposed a community to a cancer-causing compound.

The New South Wales state Environment Protection Agency said the Melbourne-based company's performance at the plant near the coastal city of Newcastle had been unacceptable. Wednesday's charges against Orica came just hours before another leak at the plant sent two railyard workers to the hospital.

"Last night, I telephoned the CEO of Orica and I told him the performance of Orica was unsatisfactory and it needed to improve," Deputy Chief Executive of Environment Regulation Greg Sullivan said. "I also made clear that the series of events we've had at Orica are disturbing, and both the regulator and the community need to have confidence they can operate that plant safely."

Orica came under fire after a leak from the plant on Aug. 8 sent the carcinogen hexavalent chromium into the air. Traces of the compound were found in the Newcastle suburb of Stockton, sending residents into a panic.

Three plumes of ammonia gas have leaked from the Orica chemical plant at Kooragang Island this afternoon - just hours after it was revealed the company would be prosecuted for a toxic leak in August at the same plant.

NSW Fire and Rescue said the gas was released in three blasts at 3.30pm.

Six fire units and Hazmat are on the scene.

No one has been injured or evacuated.

A spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said no chemicals had yet been detected by air quality monitors, while an Orica spokeswoman said the company was investigating the incident.

Earlier, the Environment Protection Authority announced that Orica would be prosecuted after hexavalent chromium belched into the air from the company's ammonium nitrate plant at Kooragang Island, near Newcastle, on August 8.

Emergency supplies of fresh linen had to be trucked in from Sydney during September's Mitchell fire crisis, to keep the Canberra Hospital's operating theatres running.
Plans were even made to send firefighters with breathing apparatus into the ACT Government's linen service within the evacuation zone to retrieve sterile surgical linen packs.

The chemical fire broke out late at night on September 15 at the Energy Services Invironmental hazardous waste treatment plant, and resulted in much of the industrial suburb being shut down for several days.

Minister for Territory and Municipal Service Simon Corbell told a Legislative Assembly Committee that emergency measures had to be put in place to ensure the hospital's surgical teams continued to get their sterile uniforms and other linen.

Capital Linen, regarded as critical infrastructure because of its importance to medical health services, employs about 100 people at its Mitchell site and launders about 100 tonnes of linen each week for the ACT Government and private clients.

Emergency crews have mostly been able to prevent 20,000 litres of an industrial chemical flowing into the water system after a tanker overturned on the Great Western Highway at Katoomba yesterday (Wednesday).
The semi-trailer carrying a synthetic hydraulic oil specifically designed to be used in underground mines rolled on the highway at Civic Place about 12.30pm on Wednesday, sparking fears the fluid would flow into nearby drains that lead to Leura Cascades.

Blue Mountains duty commander for Fire and Rescue NSW, Inspector Kernin Lambert, said the Katoomba crew were first on the scene and found a bright lime green liquid flowing from the tanker.

Authorities have found a second leaking container on a ship docked at the Port of Brisbane, prompting a chemical spill scare this morning.

Crew from aboard the ship were evacuated this morning when a container was found to be leaking zinc dithiophosphate.

After fire crews safely removed the leaking container from the ship, firefighters discovered a second container, which contained organic phosphate packages, was releasing fumes.

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The second container was resealed after the spill was found inside.

The Department of Community Safety said no chemicals were leaked into waterways during either incident and no injuries have been reported.

Fire crews are battling to contain a major chemical spill on the Great Western Highway at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, after a truck overturned and 20,000 litres of a bright green industrial chemical poured out.
Protective bunds have been built around the spill site to stop the chemical, which is possibly a type of hydraulic fluid, reaching the iconic Leura cascades.
Westbound traffic on the Great Western Highway is being diverted, but eastbound traffic is still flowing.
The chemical is described as biodegradable, but it can be a toxic irritant to skins and eyes if touched.
Six fire crews were at the site at 5pm, plus a hazardous materials unit from St Marys, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said.
National Parks rangers, Blue Mountains council staff and fire crews are monitoring the extent of the spilled fluid, some of which entered the drainage system. Council staff have poured gravel around the edge of the spill area to try and contain it.
The truck rolled over at about 2pm, and the driver's condition is unknown, although he or she was understood to not have been trapped in the vehicle.

FOUR people needed medical treatment after inhaling fumes from a chlorine leak at South Australia's prized new $100 million state Aquatic Centre.
The Aquatic and Leisure centre was evacuated after a chlorine cylinder in a storage area was found to be leaking about 9am (CDT) today, the Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) says.

Ambulance crews took three people to Flinders Medical Centre after they were affected by fumes at the swimming pool at Marion.

Flinders Medical Centre said it also gave precautionary treatment to a fourth person who was affected by fumes.

The swimming centre was reopened about 10.30am (CDT), after fire crews isolated the leak and ensured the area was safe for staff and customers to return to the building.

UPDATE 6.10pm: HUNDREDS of workers were forced to evacuated Mobil's Altona refinery after a foul-smelling chemical spill.

Fire crews raced to the scene soon after 4.30pm as residents as far away as Sunshine reported the smell of gas emanating from the plant.

At least one resident in an aged care home was treated after she was overcome by fumes.

Just before 6pm, Exxon Mobil released a statement saying the strong odour was the result of a spill involving about 1-2 litres of a foul-smelling sulphur compound, believed to include hydrogen sulphide, also known as "rotten egg gas".

"Around 4.30pm during maintenance at the Altona refinery, around 1–2 litres of water containing sulphur compounds was released to the sewer," the company said.

"This resulted in a rotten-egg type smell being inadvertently released. There is no danger to people and environment.



"We are notifying our neighbours and we regret any inconvenience."

he Country Fire Authority said several crews were working to contain the acid leak at the Cadbury Schweppes factory in Scoresby.

Fifteen people were originally evacuated from the factory early on Friday afternoon and workers from surrounding factories were then also evacuated.

"As the factory has released a cloud of high irritant vapour, CFA put out a warning for people to stay indoors, close all windows and turn off air conditioning." the CFA said.

THE Premier, Barry O'Farrell, has apologised for the stress caused by the delayed reporting of a toxic chemical leak in Stockton and announced an overhaul of environmental laws in the wake of an inquiry into the incident.

Polluting companies will now be required to notify government authorities of hazardous leaks immediately or face a $2 million fine, while the Environmental Protection Authority has been reinstated as an independent authority.

A report by former bureaucrat Brendan O'Reilly into the Orica leak in August was released yesterday along with the new measures, which also include an industry-funded environmental monitoring network in the Lower Hunter and a strengthening of procedures for public notification.

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The Environment Minister, Robyn Parker, had come under fire for making the incident public only on the afternoon of August 11 in a statement to Parliament, despite being informed the evening before. The company notified the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) at 10.30am on August 9.

Orica's safety record is being described as a disgrace after yet another incident at one of its sites.

For nine hours yesterday morning, mercury vapours exceeded the licensed levels at the chemical company's Botany site in Sydney.

The environmental regulator says the risk to health was low, but is deeply concerned about Orica's repeated transgressions.

Yesterday's incident was Orica's third mishap in New South Wales in less than two months.

First there was a leak of hexavalent chromium at the Kooragang Island plant in Newcastle on August 8, then a release of arsenic in the Hunter River.

Yesterday the company revealed mercury vapours at its Botany site in Sydney's south-east had exceeded the licensed levels from midnight to 9.00am (AEST).

More than 100 Sydneysiders were evacuated from their homes for hours last night, with fire crews kept busy battling two separate apartment block blazes and a chemical leak.

Fire crews were called to a freight company on Byrnes Street, Botany, about 10pm yesterday and found 40 boxes of chlorine-based laundry powder giving off strong vapours.

A 200-metre exclusion zone was put in place and 60 residents were evacuated for three hours.

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"It appears the cartons had become contaminated by water and a reaction was occurring, giving off chlorine vapours," Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer said.

Canberra firefighters hope they will be able to extinguish a huge chemical fire in the Australian capital by Saturday.
The fire broke out at a building in an industrial estate at Dacre Street in the northern suburb of Mitchell about midnight on Thursday, sending a plume of potentially toxic smoke streaming the city.
Fire crews initially brought the blaze under control, but were forced back by a series of explosions which witnesses said sent flames shooting up to 200 metres into the air, the ABC reports.
Emergency services say the fire has been contained within the Mitchell industrial site by late afternoon on Friday.
Atmospheric monitoring shows one possible toxin indicator has been detected, but authorities say it is well within safe limits.
There have been two reported minor injuries and some minor leakage of water used to fight the fire into nearby ponds.
Emergency services say the smoke is potentially toxic but the risk to the public has been described as low. However, residents in Mitchell have been told to stay indoors.

AZMAT crews have been called to an acid spill in Adelaide's inner northeast.

Firefighters received reports of a chemical leaking on to a footpath from inside a Port Adelaide-Enfield Council depot on Wattle Grove, Klemzig, about 9.15pm.

Five fire trucks, police officers and ambulance crews attended the incident and both ends of the street were closed to traffic.

Police notified Wattle Grove residents, but no one was evacuated.

The chemical was determined to be about 10-15 litres of hydrochloric acid and authorities said it had been contained.

TWO men have been charged after an industrial complex was set alight during an alleged drug-making operation in northwest Sydney.

Emergency services were called to the Girraween complex shortly before 1am (AEST) this morning when a smoke alarm was triggered in an industrial unit.

Police officers on the scene alerted Fire and Rescue NSW's Hazmat (hazardous materials) Unit after they noticed a strong smell.

Two men were arrested at the scene and charged with manufacturing a prohibited drug. The fire was extinguished.

Police examine the backyard where a chemical blast injured two men. Picture: Andrew Batsch
CURRAWONG Grove in Cannons Creek is a quiet rural street, with large homes on acreage. It’s lush and green, with only the noise of the odd sheep bleating or bird chirping to break the uneventful silence.

But that all changed On Sunday, August 21, resident Ben Goodman, 23, had a group of mates over, including Matt Lewis, 24, of Pakenham, and decided to experiment with mixing chemicals, which produced devastating results. Two young men suffered horrific injuries in the chemical explosion that rocked houses more than 15km away.

Neighbour Kelly Evens, 22, said the bang, at about 11pm, was one of the loudest things she had ever heard.

“There was a big shock in our street,’’ Ms Evens said.

“We know people in Pearcedale, whose whole house shook when it went off.

“We went outside and within about five minutes of the explosion, there were three fire trucks in the street and then after that two ambulances and six or eight police cars.

“There were two ambulance helicopters that landed in open land near our house. They didn’t take off until after 2.30am, so they must have been taking their time in stabilising the injured guys,’’ she said.

Mr Goodman and Mr Lewis were both seriously injured and were flown to separate hospitals.

Mr Goodman suffered burns to his eyes, face and upper body, and is in a stable condition at the Alfred Hospital.

The Victoria Police arson squad says two men who were critically injured in a backyard explosion south-east of Melbourne last night were experimenting with chemicals.
A 24-year-old Pakenham man and a 23-year-old man from Cannons Creek are undergoing emergency surgery after the chemicals they were mixing exploded.
The arson squad says the men planned to bury an improvised explosive device they had made, but it blew up earlier than they had expected.

One person has been taken to hospital after being exposed to a chemical in the change rooms at the Essendon Football Club.

Firefighters and paramedics were called to Windy Hill about 12.15pm where about 250 millilitres of chlorine had been spilt in the change rooms.

Essendon Football Club spokeswoman Cara Pelchen said the spill occurred as an employee was filling up the hot and cold baths in the change rooms.

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She said the property steward was taken to hospital as a precaution.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said firefighters cleaned up the spill in about 30 minutes.

HEMICAL giant Orica, responsible for the leak of cancer-causing fumes over Newcastle on Monday, failed to alert the Fire and Rescue Service, which should have been called immediately to assess the situation.

Instead, the fire service, which has the hazardous materials response team - Hazmat - was told by a member of the public about the leak the day after the incident.

''We then rang the company [Orica] ourselves and were told they did not require our assistance,'' a fire service spokesman said.

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Asked about this yesterday, Orica declined to comment.

Environmental and emergency management experts said Hazmat should have been on site immediately, setting up a command post.

The failure to alert the emergency response teams has raised questions about the corporate governance at Orica Australia, whether it has an on-site emergency response plan at its Kooragang Island plant and whether that plan was followed.

Orica was told in June that a variation to its licence to run the chemical plant was contingent on its having an on-site emergency response plan.

Police say they have found items consistent with a drug laboratory at the site of an explosion in Millendon last night.

A 48-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious burns after the blast, which happened on the Great Northern Highway about 9.30pm.

A Fire and Emergency Services Authority spokesman said firefighters were called to a chemical fire in a large shed caused by the explosion.

He said the blaze was extinguished before firefighters arrived but still caused about $20,000 damage.

The injured man suffered severe burns to his back and is in the intensive care unit in hospital this morning.

Police say they also found a hydroponic set-up and a stolen motorcycle at the property.

A ROYAL Australian Air Force member was expected to be airlifted to Brisbane last night after suffering horrific burns in a portaloo explosion apparently sparked by a cigarette.

The man suffered third-degree burns to his head, face, arms, chest and airways in an incident at the Rockhampton Airport about 9.30am yesterday, the Department of Community Safety said.

“There was some sort of explosion in a portaloo.

"It's believed the man was lighting a cigarette at the time,” a Department of Community Safety spokeswoman said.

Two workers were exposed to a poisonous gas at the Shell refinery near Geelong this morning, firefighters say.

The contractors were working at the Refinery Road site in Corio when a refinery pump began leaking hydrogen sulphide just after 8.35am.

A Country Fire Authority (CFA) spokesman said refinery employees isolated the leak within minutes, and the two workers suffered only minor exposure.

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‘‘Both attended the site’s health centre for assessment and observation by their team and Ambulance Victoria. They were not taken to hospital. It’s a mild exposure,’’ he said.

The CFA spokesman said there appeared to be a leak of hydrogen sulphide, a poisonous flammable gas.

Around a hundred people had to be evacuated from the Brisbane YMCA overnight after a chemical fire.

Queensland Fire and Rescue says a 20 litre drum of cleaning product caught fire about ten-thirty last night. Guests were allowed back into the inner-city building three hours later - when the chemical smoke cleared.

Fire engines and a HAZMAT team remain at the scene of a fire near Newcastle where nearby residents were evacuated after a large acetylene cylinder started leaking during an industrial blaze.

The fire at Heatherbrae early on Friday was initially thought to be in a domestic garage but was in fact industrial, containing tyres and the cylinder, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said.

Ten nearby residents have been evacuated and products from the fire are affecting a nearby creek, he said.

'HAZMAT from Newcastle are at the scene and will ascertain the effect on the local catchment area.'

Fire engines and a HAZMAT team remain at the scene of a fire near Newcastle where nearby residents were evacuated after a large acetylene cylinder started leaking during an industrial blaze.

he fire at Heatherbrae early on Friday was initially thought to be in a domestic garage but was in fact industrial, containing tyres and the cylinder, a spokesman for Fire and Rescue NSW said.

en nearby residents have been evacuated and products from the fire are affecting a nearby creek, he said.

HAZMAT from Newcastle are at the scene and will ascertain the effect on the local catchment area."

A truck carrying a thousand litres of corrosive liquids, including nitric acid, crashed on the Pacific Highway this morning.

Chris Bishop, from Fire and Rescue NSW, says the spill has been contained.

He says no evacuations were necessary, but breathing equipment is being used.

"The only requirement at the moment is for people who are up close," Mr Bishop said.

"We were monitoring that and we had police located in the nearest residences which were, I believe, about 150 yards away.

"We haven't needed to follow that path because there was initial fuming but that's died down."

About 50 people have been evacuated and three people have been treated by paramedics after a gas leak in eastern Sydney.

Emergency services were called after a gas main ruptured at the corner of Macleay Street and Crick Avenue, Potts Point, about 1.30pm.

Fire and Rescue NSW spokesman Superintendent Paul Johnstone said crews are using fire hoses to disperse the vapours.

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Superintendent Johnstone said HAZMAT crews are taking gas readings, before they will allow about 50 people back into their units.

Two men and one woman were treated for nausea, he said.

The gas company is trying to figure out how to stop the leak without cutting supply to nearby residents.

TWO police officers were overcome by fumes coming from a clandestine drug lab inside a Homeswest unit in Carlisle last night.

Just before 10pm, four officers went to the unit in Mars Street after neighbours reported feeling unwell because of strong chemical odours coming from the house.

When police opened the front door of the home two of the officers standing nearest to the door were overcome by the strong fumes, suffering mild respiratory problems.

They were treated at the scene by St John Ambulance and later taken to Rockingham Hospital for further treatment.

A man and a woman allegedly found inside the home at the time were arrested after numerous chemicals were found inside the unit.

HAZARDOUS materials experts have closed a Teralba scrap metal yard after a drum containing mercury was spilled this morning.
No one is affected by the spill of the highly toxic substance.

A small amount spilled onto the clothing and boots of a worker.

It is understood the mercury may have been spread around the site by trucks soon after it was spilled, about 11.30am.

The area has been isolated and specialist HAZMAT firefighters are working to clean up the contaminated area.

A MAN has died from exposure to chemicals following an explosion at a factory in Laverton North.
MFB spokesman John Rees said the man had tried to decontaminate himself by washing the chemicals off in a shower, but collapsed and suffered a heart attack after the incident last Thursday.

Paramedic team manager Mark Collins said

paramedics treated the man for about 20 minutes, managing his airway and using IV drugs in an attempt to restart his heart. "Unfortunately the man died at the scene."

The incident at the Nufarm factory in Pipe Road was the third work-related fatality in Victoria this month, prompting WorkSafe to plead with employees and employers to continually assess their safety.

The 54-year-old man ingested molten phenol after working on an exterior pipe when a flange broke and sprayed him with the toxic chemical.

DANDENONG South residents are being warned to stay inside after a fire broke out at a Dandenong South factory last night.

The CFA has issued warnings to people living in Dandenong South, Cranbourne North, Hampton Park and Lynbrook to close all windows to avoid the thick black smoke.

Fire crews battled the giant factory blaze, which was fuelled by 700,000 litres of engine oil, for more than eight hours

The fire, at the TriTech Lubricants on Williams Rd, started about 8pm, with 130 firefighters fighting through the night.
...
CFA Operations officer Mark Kennedy said the main chemical involved was engine oil and took more than eight hours to control.

A man has died after being exposed to a toxic chemical used to make weed killer at a Melbourne agricultural chemicals plant.

Four colleagues tried in vain to resuscitate the 54-year-old when he collapsed while trying to wash off the chemical, while another man suffered a minor chemical burn to his wrist.

The dead man had been working on an exterior pipeline at the Nufarm chemical plant in Laverton North when he was sprayed with the toxic chemical on Thursday morning.

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Police said the man ingested some of the acid-based solvent.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said the man was exposed to phenol, a substance used in the manufacture of herbicides.

Chemical explosion kills man in Laverton (01:22)
A worker at the Nufarm factory in Laverton, in Melbourne's west, dies after a pipe explodes and covers him with carbolic acid.
19/05/11