Workplace Health and Safety are looking into an incident which resulted in a man being rushed to hospital. Here’s what allegedly happened.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland are investigating an incident which occurred at Torrington business Action Metal Recyclers yesterday afternoon.
A WPHS spokeswoman said it attended the Boundary St worksite after the accident occurred about 2pm on Wednesday, January 18.
“Our investigations are continuing,” she said.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services were quick to evacuate the site and sent in two Hazmat crews to conduct atmospheric testing before deeming the property safe at 3.20pm.
Despite initial reports from QFES that a gas canister exploded, an Action Metal Recyclers spokesman said the canister had depressurised quickly which resulted in an unknown gas being released.
The spokesman said the small canister was believed to be a copper cooler from the 1940s and the gas may have been caused by a refrigerant.
The Queensland metal recycling business buys metals such as copper, aluminium, lead, brass, steel, and also accepts radiators and catalytic converters.
However, some items are considered dangerous which restricts the type of items customers are allowed to drop off at its sites, which includes refrigerant gases, pressurised vessels, flammable liquids, and gas bottles.
“We have very strict guidelines around what you can and can not include in your scrap metal because it may pose a significant risk to the health, safety, property or the environment,” Action Metal’s website stated.
A man in his late 30s who came into contact with the gas on Wednesday afternoon was rushed to Toowoomba Hospital with reported breathing issues, however he was released later that day.
The Action Metal Recyclers spokesman said the worker was not back at work the following day, but he was well and resting at home.
Source: The Chronicle (Toowoomba)
