Angellala Creek ammonium nitrate explosion – 5 September 2014 A summary of facts about this incident are listed below. They will be updated regularly. Anyone with information that may assist inquiries into this incident are requested to contact the Explosives Inspectorate on [email protected] • Time of road accident - 8:55pm • Time of explosion – 10:12 pm • Location – Angellala Creek near Bakers Bend, Mitchell Highway, approx 30 kilometres south of Charleville. The location is approx. 700 kilometres west of Brisbane. • Traffic accident – Single vehicle accident. The truck failed to negotiate the bridge at Angellala Creek and came to rest in the dry creek bed adjacent to the road bridge. The driver was injured. The vehicle caught fire. • Injuries – eight injuries. Seven injuries to persons in close proximity to the seat of the explosion. Four of these persons suffered serious injuries. One other person a t a different location further from the seat of the blast suffered injuries. • Fire and explosion – There was fire following the traffic accident. The small explosion followed by the large explosion occurred approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes after the traffic accident. A crater about 12 metres by 6 metres by 6 metres deep was formed in the creek bed from the explosion. The soil is sandy loam. • Damage – the prime mover and two trailer were destroyed. The road bridge was destroyed. The rail bridge suffered serious structural damage. One fire engine was destroyed and the other received serious damage. A police car and two transport trucks were damaged. • Substances being transported – 52.8 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in 44 bulk bags each weighing 1.2 tonnes. • Route – the load of ammonium nitrate was being transported from Gladstone Queensland to a mine in South Australia. • Ammonium nitrate - The ammonium nitrate is manufactured in Gladstone, Queensland as an ingredient for explosives used predominantly in the mining industries. The ammonium nitrate is an oxidizing agent and is classified under the United Nations system as a dangerous good of Class 5.1, packing group 3, United Nations number UN1942. • Vehicle – The vehicle consisted of a prime mover and two trailers in a B-Double combination (Type 1 road train). The company transporting the ammonium nitrate is licenced under the Queensland Explosives Act to transport ammonium nitrate for those vehicles. • Legislation – the road transport of ammonium nitrate is regulated under the Queensland Explosives Act. Ammonium nitrate is controlled under the Explosives Act as a security sensitive ammonium nitrate under the national controls agreed between the Commonwealth, States and Territories in 2004. The transport of ammonium nitrate must be undertaken in compliance with the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail. • Investigation – The Explosives Inspectorate is undertaking an investigation under the Explosives Act to determine the nature and cause of the incident and to make recommendations to prevent a similar incident from occurring again. The investigation team is on site and is expected to conclude its activities at Angellala Creek by Friday 12 September. • Incident scene management – The site has been declared safe and there is not an exclusion zone in place based upon safety distances. The site is under the control of the Explosives Inspectorate lead investigator. The site is isolated for the collection of evidence and is being released section by section for recovery and remediation activities by industry and government agencies. The site was initially controlled by the police and then the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service who passed control to the Explosives Inspectorate at 5:05 pm on 8 September 2014. Attach locations maps (local and Queensland) and photos from the incident scene. (Photos taken by inspectorate staff)
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 23:46:04 +0000
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