VEOLIA workers say Tasmanian regulators are declining to improve waste oil handling procedures, despite a 2005 explosion in Launceston which killed two men.
The statements were made at the coronial inquest into the December 2005 incident at Veolia’s Launceston site, when welding equipment ignited gases in a tank, killing Adrian Chugg and Bruce Beamish.
According to Veolia’s OHS officer Robert Wise, the company did not take action to improve work safety prior to the explosion. The Launceston plant did not have no smoking or no naked flame signs at oil recycling facility.
Veolia has since improved its waste oil handling procedures, but workers say there are still risks.
Veolia Environmental Services environment manager John Brennan claimed to have asked the Department of Environment to update its handling procedures for waste oil, but was told it was not a priority.
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