BlueScope Steel Pty Ltd has been fined $30,000 by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) following a significant air emission incident at its Port Kembla Steelworks.
The breach reportedly stemmed from a failure in the coke ovens, a critical component in the steelmaking process, during a control system software update, NSW EPA said in a news release.
Coke ovens are essential for converting coal into coke, a vital material in iron production.
According to the EPA, the incident resulted in the release of a substantial amount of coke oven gas for up to five minutes across multiple locations within the facility.
Adam Gilligan, director of Operations at the NSW EPA, stated that BlueScope Steel had not taken adequate precautions to prevent the gas emissions.
“BlueScope Steel conducted pre-works risk assessments and implemented some control measures, but further preparation could have been taken to prevent the incident,” Gilligan said.
“The company failed to identify the operation of critical control valves as a potential issue. Had this occurred, the incident may have been minimised or prevented.”
Gilligan emphasised the environmental risks associated with coke oven gases and stressed the importance of robust management systems to mitigate such hazards.
He remarked, “Coke ovens gases pose potential harm to the environment and must be carefully managed. We expect all licensees to have systems, practices, and procedures in place to ensure they operate in a proper and efficient manner.”
Following the incident, BlueScope Steel promptly self-reported the breach and cooperated fully with the EPA’s investigation.
The company has since committed to conducting a thorough review of the event to assess the risks of failure and to implement improvements across its operations.
The NSW EPA encourages the public to report environmental incidents by contacting the Environment Line at 131 555.
