The excavation site for Snowy Hydro 2.0 at Talbingo. Photo: Snowy Hydro Facebook.
A mishap at Snowy Hydro has seen all underground work come to a stop.
The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) said on Thursday (27 February) that an industrial-sized ventilation fan had malfunctioned on the project, under construction in the NSW Snowy Mountains region.
The fan, which was about 2.5 metres in diameter, allegedly fell and lost part of its blade earlier in the week.
AWU NSW Secretary Tony Callinan said that, if they had been nearby, workers could have been seriously harmed.
“This latest incident represents a significant near-miss that could have resulted in workers being killed,” he said.
“Had anyone been in the path of this high-velocity shrapnel, we would be discussing fatalities rather than equipment failure.”
After the malfunction, it is understood that all underground operations stopped.
Snowy Hydro did not reply to detailed questions sent by Region, but instead referred to a statement released on Thursday.
“Following a serious safety incident at Snowy 2.0, Snowy Hydro will seek an immediate independent safety review and audit, and will require changes to principal contractor Future Generation Joint Venture’s (FGJV) leadership on the project,” it said in a statement.
It also said FGJV would work with SafeWork NSW to ensure safety.
“Recent safety concerns at Snowy 2.0 have made it clear that as the client, our assurance role over FGJV’s activities requires this intervention.
“We’re committed to working with our workforce and unions to ensure that the safety standards we expect are in place at Snowy 2.0.”
The AWU said that after the incident, SafeWork NSW inspectors assessed the site and issued six prohibition notices, which it said affected all ventilation fans at the project.
The union is calling for all ventilation equipment to undergo a comprehensive inspection by the original manufacturers before any worker returns to underground work.
“The condition of these critical safety systems is completely unacceptable,” Mr Callinan said.
“These fans provide the essential ventilation that makes underground work possible.
“Their failure not only represents an immediate hazard from flying debris but could also create lethal atmospheric conditions underground.”
In its statement, Snowy Hydro said it had a hope of “progressively restarting work” and FGJV would work with SafeWork NSW to make sure the fans were safe.
While work on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project began in 2019, it has faced cost blowouts and ongoing delays.
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