Union’s toxic fallout fear

THE mining union has slammed the failed demolition of Alcoa’s power station, claiming the botched job threatened Anglesea residents’ health.

The CFMEU said it was “bewildered by the lack of care” in handling the attempted felling of the power station structure on Wednesday.

The controlled implosion brought down the bunkers and the six-storey conveyor belt, but the main building was left standing.

Alcoa yesterday refused to detail where the planned event went wrong.

But the CFMEU said the job was fraught with risk, and it is looking to meet with WorkSafe to discuss concerns about suspected asbestos contamination.

“What we are left with is a suspected toxic mess that has potentially left Anglesea residents vulnerable to asbestos exposure,” the union said.

“It is near-impossible when demolishing such a large structure to be sure all asbestos has been removed.

“Past decommissioning of such large power stations has proved this to be the case.”

The CFMEU said two major demolition contractors believed Australia did not have the expertise to carry out the task with explosives.

“Our advice would have been that we do not have the expertise in Australia and that we would need to consult with international contractors,” it said.

The Environment Protection Authority attended the attempted demolition.

“EPA observations were that the dust cloud that was generated dissipated within a few hundred metres,” it said.

Alcoa is required to assess noise and dust impacts from a number of locations around the site and report to the EPA.

Those requirements remain in place for future works.

Alcoa yesterday said it was “continuing to work with the principal contractor to assess the site and plan for the remainder of the structure to be demolished”.

The company on Wednesday said the demolition had occurred safely but did not address the cause of the malfunction.

There were suspicions among ex-Alcoa staff gathered to watch the demolition that charges attached to the structure did not go off.