Editorial: Lack of outside investigation into gas leak concerning

Mark Dawson, editor of Wanganui Chronicle

It is concerning that WorkSafe New Zealand has decided not to investigate the ammonia leak at the Affco Imlay meat works in Whanganui on January 11.

This was hardly a minor workplace mishap. Three workers were hospitalised after being exposed to the toxic gas, one of them being pregnant, and 200 staff were evacuated.
Affco put the leak down to the failure of a safety valve.

One worker commented: "We were all exposed. It was a major leak, we could hardly breathe and see ... we were trapped."

While the three workers were discharged from hospital that day, apparently suffering no long-term affects, the incident does raise questions about safety at the Heads Road facility. Adding to the concern is the fact that there was another leak two weeks later.

One might have thought this was serious enough for WorkSafe to come and have a look for themselves. There is also the impact of escaping gas and odours among nearby residents, but that falls outside WorkSafe's remit.

Instead of investigating, WorkSafe has put the ball in Affco's court and asked the company to police itself.

Affco will undertake a duty holder review of the incident, though one would have assumed the company would have already been taking a close look at what went wrong and how it can be prevented from happening again.

It is the lack of external oversight from an agency set up for the very purpose of ensuring workplaces are safe that perplexes.

As the duty holder conducting the review, Affco must "genuinely" involve other people — particularly victims and workers — in the review and take their views and needs into account.

Let us hope WorkSafe NZ ensures this happens.