Regulator seeks to prosecute energy giant over lead exposure at retired gas plant

SafeWorkSA is pursuing energy giant AGL over allegations the company allowed workers involved in decommissioning at its Torrens Island gas power plant to be exposed to “unsafe levels of lead” in a legal action that highlights the risks associated with closing down old fossil fuel infrastructure.

The work involved the now-retired Torrens A Station, one of two gas-fired power generators onTorrens Island, between October 2022 and April 2023 where it is alleged employees and sub-contractors were required to cut up large electrical cables coated in lead with no guidance for how to do so safely.

The workers involved were not provided a respirator and five employees were later found to have been poisoned by lead.

In a statement, SafeWorkSA said it had taken the action after a “lengthy and complex investigation” that alleges AGL Torrens Island Pty Ltd with a Category 2 offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2012. The maximum penalty for a company is $1.5 million.

AGL said it could not comment on a live legal matter.

“AGL reported the event to SafeWork SA in May 2023 and has been working co-operatively with SafeWork SA,” a spokesperson said.

“Health and safety is a core value of AGL and is an integral part of the way we work.”

John Adley, branch secretary for the South Australian branch of the Communications, Electrical, Plumbing Union, which represents the workers involved, welcomed the decision to prosecute.

“What we were doing in pursuing this issue for the last two years is to try to bring it to people’s attention so there is more awareness about the dangers of lead,” Adley said.

“The problem is that AGL failed to recognise there was a lead risk involved in the decommissioning work, and failed to take the proper steps to ensure workers safety.”

“The people who became sick with lead poisoning didn’t know why they were sick. It took us identifying there was a lead issue for them to doctor and get a test to show they have been poisoned.”

As lead is extremely “sticky”, Adley said the affected workers had tracked the heavy metal back into their homes, exposing their partners and children, and forcing drastic action to deep clean their homes and to replace their possessions, furniture and appliances.

Adley alleges that AGL initially “tried to prevent union officials from taking samples” that helped show what had taken place and said the company had attempted to treat different categories of employee differently.

The prosecution highlights the ongoing environmental, health and safety risk associated with fossil fuel infrastructure and what is required to safely decommission these facilities at the end of their operating lives, particularly as the transition to renewable energy in the power grid continues.

Adley said he hoped the case would encourage other companies to take more care, highlight the risk posed by lead and other heavy metals, and prevent a repeat in the future.

“This is a good news story about a regulator doing what they should be doing, which shouldn’t be news but is – and we welcome the decision,” he said.