WorkSafe puts licence conditions on Mobil Altona Refinery

03 June 2010

WorkSafe Victoria has imposed new conditions on Mobil’s licence to operate its Altona refinery.

Conditions have been put in place 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.

“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,” Acting Executive Director for Health and Safety Stan Krpan said.

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

By November this year, Mobil has to meet a number of specific conditions. These will 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

• 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,” Mr Krpan said.

“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,” he said.

Background:

All Victorian Major Hazard Facilities (MHFs) must hold a licence, issued by WorkSafe Victoria, in order to operate.

When applying for a licence, a MHF has to submit a Safety Case to WorkSafe. WorkSafe’s technical assessors and inspectors assess the application, and a licence panel makes a decision on whether to issue a licence.

After a licence 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.