The company where a large fire broke out last week has been slapped with a major fine after a worker was injured in a previous workplace blaze.
Waste management company Cleanaway Liquid Waste Services has officially been convicted and fined $300,000 for breaching Commonwealth work health and safety laws over a 2022 fire that left a worker with serious injuries.
The incident occurred at the company’s liquid waste treatment facility on Christie Street in St Marys in April 2022.
A worker was operating a Haxpak machine, which is used to process hazardous wastes including aerosol cans and paint tins, when flammable gases escaped.
The gases were ignited by a spark from an exposed spindle on an electric motor that was not fitted with a guard.
The Cleanaway worker suffered severe burns to his face and hands.
The fire took several hours to contain and required more than 130 firefighters deployed to the scene.
ComCare is an Australian government body that promotes and enables safe and healthy workplaces through physical and psychological injury prevention, early intervention, injury recovery, return to work and work health and safety regulation.
Cleanaway is a licenced national employer in the ComCare scheme and subject to regulation under Commonwealth work health and safety laws.
ComCare CEO Greg Vines said the health and safety risks involved in the scenario were obvious and should have been foreseen.
“ComCare’s investigation identified failures in providing a safe system of work relating to the maintenance and operation of the machinery,” Vines said.
“Workers had previously raised concerns about safety, including that flammable gas had been escaping from the Hazpak machine as recently as five days before the incident.
“Expert advice also established that the motor and the Hazpak machine did not comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements for electrical installations.”
Cleanaway was charged with a Category 2 offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million but walked away with a $300,000 fine.
Cleanaway made headlines last week when over 100 firefighters on 20 firetrucks were called to the facility after a major blaze broke out.
No injuries were reported from the scene aside from two firefighters suffering from heat stress.
Investigations continue into the cause of the blaze, which forced evacuations and saw smoke visible from across western Sydney.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.