Newcastle community information
Community Safety Information
Advice for neighbours of Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Newcastle Distribution Centre.
This communication has been prepared by IPL to provide information to those who live or work near the Incitec Pivot Fertilisers depot at 39 Heron Road, Kooragang Island.
Incitec Pivot Fertilisers Kooragang Island is located at 39 Heron Road, Kooragang Island. Its primary function is to store, blend, bag and despatch both liquid and granulated fertilisers. However, the site does also import, store and despatched both sulphuric acid and ammonium nitrate.
The site employs approximately 30 permanent employees and up to 15 contractors on a mixture of day work and shift work. The business may operate 24 hours during busy seasons, typically March through June. The gatehouse is manned 17 hours per day, five days per week, with routine patrols outside of these hours.
Our Safety Framework
All IPL sites operate under a strict framework of federal, state and local government safety and environmental regulations. The company has procedures and controls in place to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements. At Newcastle, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers operates according to a prescribed Safety Management System which is designed to meet the requirements of OH & S legislation. The site has robust plans ready to be put into action to manage a range of possible emergencies, including a chemical release or fire.
Our emergency plans have been developed in conjunction with emergency service agencies such as Fire Brigades, the NSW Police Force and the Ambulance Service of NSW as well as Newcastle Shire Council.
Emergency Response
Once activated, the detailed site emergency plans will guide IPL's immediate response to any incident, which may include advising neighbours if necessary. Minimising the potential for impact in the community is a key part of the plans, which will cover potential incidents including fire, ammonia liquid or gas release, chemical spill or leak, bomb threat and natural disaster. In an extreme circumstance, the site and possibly the surrounding area may be evacuated.
Contacting relevant authorities in the event of an incident
In the event of an environmental incident that causes material environmental harm, the Incitec Pivot Newcastle Site HSE representative and Emergency Commander will;
- Collect the initial basic information of the incident for reporting purposes; and
- Immediately contact the following authorities as required by the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997. The time that each of the authorities were notified will be recorded and included on the incident report.