Orica Australia Pty Ltd has today been fined $1.2 million in the District Court of NSW after
SafeWork NSW prosecuted the company when two workers were exposed over a number of
years to cobalt dust, a known respiratory sensitising agent which can cause occupational
illness.
Orica pleaded guilty to a Category 1 offence, the highest category under NSW law, pursuant to
section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 in relation to the exposure between 2014
and 2019 at a Kooragang site which left one worker developing occupational asthma.
A Category 1 offence occurs when a person has a health and safety duty but engages in
conduct where an individual is exposed to a risk of death or serious injury or illness and is
reckless as to that risk. In this case it was via exposure to cobalt dust through inhalation and
skin irritation and direct contact to the eyes, nose, mouth and skin.
Orica’s activities at the industrial chemical manufacturing facility at Kooragang Island includes
producing cobalt catalyst pellets in the Cobalt Catalyst Manufacturing Shed where the two men
worked.
The court found cobalt dust and powders were generated during manufacturing processes and
were visible, although the amount of dust and powders generated varied and depended on the
stage of the above manufacturing process and the state of the cobalt catalyst.
The chronic effects of exposure to cobalt dust include respiratory effects such as asthma,
fibrosis and lung damage, and more rarely cardiac effects and congestion of the liver and
kidneys.
Learn more about health monitoring for cobalt dust.
Head of SafeWork NSW Trent Curtin said:
“The Court found the likelihood of risk of exposure was certain and few steps were taken by
Orica to guard against the risk, and those steps were poorly implemented and inadequate.
“This is a prosecution for a Category 1 offence of the NSW WHS legislation and sends a clear
message to industry – if you put people at risk we will prosecute you to the full extent of the
laws.”