About 20,000 litres of a low hazard substance have spilled on to the ground at the Orica plant near Newcastle this afternoon, prompting a quick reaction by emergency services.

The dilute ammonium nitrate solution, which has been described as being equivalent to garden fertiliser, overflowed from a tank at the plant this afternoon, a spokesman from the Environmental Protection Authority said.
Fire and Rescue HAZMAT crews and NSW Ambulance attended the scene and crews are assisting Orica with the clean-up.

The incident comes a day after the Office of Environment and Heritage allowed Orica to restart part of the Kooragang Island plant responsible for an ammonia leak last month.

Fire and Rescue NSW confirmed the substance was considered “low hazard” and was in a contained area.

“There are no reports of injuries,” said a spokesman.
NSW Environment Minister Robyn Parker, who has been criticised for her slow response to previous Orica incidents, promptly put out a statement reassuring the public there was no environmental or health risk based on current information.

“I am advised EPA investigators are on site, the incident is contained on site, and there is no environmental risk,” she said.
“NSW Health has advised there is no public health risk to the community, based on current information available.”

She said Orica had self-reported the incident to both the state’s environment line and emergency services.
“Orica have reported that the incident occurred during pumping operations between tanks and the auto shut-off is believed to have failed,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the company said there was a small overflow of the solution, which she said was “equivalent to garden fertiliser”.
“There is no risk to the public”.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/yet-another-leak-at-orica-plant-20111207-1o…