WorkSafe puts licence conditions on refinery

Conditions have been put on Mobil’s licence to operate its Altona refinery by WorkSafe Victoria due to persisting health and safety incidents since the facility was last licensed in 2007. The refinery has also been reporting more incidents than other facilities of a similar size.

Commenting on the conditions, Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said: “The objective of imposing licence conditions is to prompt Mobil to identify any shortcomings in their safety inspection and maintenance systems, and rectify them before incidents have a chance to occur.”

The new licence conditions will come into force from later this month, and will last until December 2012.

By November 2010, Mobil has to meet a number of specific conditions that need to be demonstrated to WorkSafe through written evidence and inspections:

• Analyse past incidents to identify the causes, and address causes through improvements to safety inspection and maintenance systems; and
• Demonstrate that these improvements mean the risk of incidents (such as leaks or spillage) is significantly reduced.

“We’re interested in getting Mobil to identify what isn’t working, and fix it,” Krpan added. “It will mean that Mobil will need to put more time and effort into safety inspection and maintenance.

“Meeting these licence conditions will mean that Mobil is reducing the risk of incidents at the refinery, and safely managing any incidents that do happen.

“Victoria’s regulations for major hazard facilities are the strongest in the country. We expect Mobil to comply. The local community deserves the assurance that these issues will be better managed.”

All Victorian major hazard facilities (MHFs) must hold a licence, issued by WorkSafe Victoria, in order to operate.

When applying for a licence, an MHF has to submit a Safety Case to WorkSafe, which is assessed by WorkSafe’s technical assessors and inspectors. A licence panel then makes a decision on whether to issue a licence. After it is issued, WorkSafe technical inspectors carry out annual in-depth inspections of the facility, as well as two or three visits between every inspection. These visits come on top of WorkSafe’s response to accidents or incidents at MHFs.

MHFs are required to report certain accidents and incidents to WorkSafe. These include the escape, spillage or leakage of any substance that exposes a person in the immediate vicinity to an immediate risk.