Workers at a multi-billion dollar renewable electricity project dodged high-velocity shrapnel after the ‘catastrophic failure’ of an industrial-sized fan.
An underground fan, approximately 2.5 metres in diameter, failed and lost part of its blade on Tuesday morning at Snowy Hydro’s 2.0 project, causing dangerous pieces of metal to flyout into the workspace.
‘This latest incident represents a significant near-miss that could have resulted in workers being killed,’ said Australian Workers’ Union NSW Secretary, Tony Callinan.
‘Had anyone been in the path of this high-velocity shrapnel, we would be discussing fatalities rather than equipment failure.’
Callinan said workers at the renewable project were also forced to stop work in January after underground refuge chambers, necessary in the event of an underground emergency, ‘were found to be inoperable’.
SafeWork NSW told Daily Mail Australia that inspectors have slapped Hydro Snowy with six prohibition notices to cease the use of unsafe ventilation fans. All work on the project has stopped until the fans are inspected and cleared as safe.
The authority identified two dangerous incidents at the site, highlighting that a crane also malfunctioned over the weekend.
An investigation into the failure of the fan led to the discovery that other fans are also at risk. No one was hurt in the incident.
Snowy Hydro is facing six prohibition notices from Safework NSW, and has stopped activity at its beleaguered renewable project
‘These are significant safety events and it is lucky that no one was hurt,’ said Safework NSW acting deputy secretary, Trent Curtin.
Every worker deserves to go to work knowing they are in a safe environment from which they can expect to return home every day.’
The union is demanding all ventilation equipment undergo comprehensive inspection by the original manufacturers before any worker returns to the underground portions of the project.
‘The AWU and our members have absolutely no confidence in the project’s ability to manage safety, it is time for some changes at all levels of management of this project, including with the client Snowy Hydro,’ said Callinan.
Snowy Hydro released a statement addressing the incident with the ventilation fan, confirming it will take immediate action.
‘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.
‘FGJV will work with SafeWork NSW to ensure they are safe, with the aim of progressively restarting work.
‘Nothing is more important to Snowy Hydro than 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.’
The AWU said it has ‘no confidence’ in the project’s ability to manage the safety of its workers
Daily Mail Australia has contacted FGJV for comment.
The renewable project seems to have been plagued by issues long before the malfunction of the ventilation fan, including the initial cost for the $2billion project blowing out to $12billion.
The controversial project, which aims to dig the 15km journey below Kosciuszko National Park, was announced by then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2017 with construction commencing in 2019.
It stalled in 2023 when a $150m 400-tonne boring machine, called Florence, became stuck.
In February the same year, workers living remotely at the super-project found maggots and caterpillars in the food supplied to them by the jobsite.
