TGCCC Adopted Minutes 10 November 2008

Held in the Meeting Room, Corio Library, Norlane

Monday 10thNovember, 2008

Present:

Robin Saunders Chair

Charmaine Granger Minute Taker

Community Representative	Greg Postuma Peter Linaker John Wilson Catherine Jones Bill Aitkin
CFA	Bob Smith Ian Beswicke
Terminals Pty Ltd	George Horman Gary O'Sullivan Carlo Fasolino Geoff Millard
Friends of Port Lillias and Corio Bay	Pam Edwards
Maribyrnong City Council	Theo Pykoulus
Geelong Community for Good Life	Sue McLean

Apologies:

City of Greater Geelong	Lyndon Ray Kevin Garde Cr Tom O'Connor
Community Representative	Ralph Taylor
Geelong Community Forum	Suz Kelly-Turner
Terminals Pty Ltd	Geoff Millard

ITEM 1	Welcome by Chair
Robin	Welcomed everyone.
ITEM 2	Apologies, confirmation of Draft Agenda
Apologies were received from Ralph Taylor, Lyndon Ray, Tom O'Connor, Kevin Garde, Geoff Millard and Suz Kelly-Turner
Robin	Asked for confirmation of the Draft Agenda.
ITEM 3	Confirmation on the Draft Minutes of the meeting 8th September 2008. Page 6 - Peter Linaker - should read "Butadiene is produced by bushfires and highway traffic. It is toxic to some people. The isotainer proposal is a controlled burn at Terminals and should not be opposed by this Committee". Page 3 - Action Item 35/1 should read "Terminals to respond to the GHD report". Adopted as true records of the meeting with the above changes.
ITEM 4	Business Arising from Minutes
Action Item 31/5	Advise date on which Port Plan Planning Scheme Amendment will go on exhibition.
Nothing further to report
Action Item 35/1	Terminals to respond to the GHD report on the Terminals Site Emergency Plan.
Carlo	See Item 6 below, where a response to each of GHD's recommendations is given.
Action Item 35/2	Gary to report back to committee on outcome of high level alarm recording at Sphere 2500.
Gary	Stated that part of the butadiene shipping procedures was to carry out a test on spheres before the shipment is received. The high level alarm is checked by powering the pointer up the empty tank, until the high level point trips the alarm, thus checking that it is working. However the motor that drives the pointer up for the test travels too fast, and is well above the high level alarm before it triggers it (it should trigger it within ±100 mm). Even with the motor slowed down to 15mm/second, the alarm does not trip at the high level point, as the system is not sophisticated enough.. Another step could be to further slow the motor, but this would take too long. The purpose of the test was reviewed, and it became apparent that even though an accurate identification of the high level did not result, the test did check that the alarm was given, and this was the primary purpose of the test. The test will now be recorded as simply a check that the high level alarm is triggered, not that it is triggered within the ±100 mm.
Sue	Asked why was this not part of HASOP?
Carlo	Stated that the high level alarm does work.
ITEM 5	Emergency communication with residents (Theo Pykoulas, Maribyrnong City Council).
Theo	Apologies for not being able to present the PowerPoint presentation. An incident happened on the 22 December, 2007 as is documented as the West Point incident. Theo has a report which is available on the web site. What happened was in an industrial zone shed where granulated chlorine was stored, water got in resulting in a fire. This created toxic fumes up to 3 kilometres away. Information was broadcasted. By 10.30 am a local community centre was ready for an evacuation. There were no major health implications caused by the gas cloud, though 12 people were checked. However it did caused a lot of angst. 000 received a lot of calls in regard to safety issues etc. It also created a lot of issues for Council. People want to speak to someone live for information. By 11.30 am everything was clear and residents were notified by radio. However this did not reach everyone. Once the event was managed and information was put on the after hours service and web site Emergency Services went home and it was the week end. But there were many calls of concerns relating to the health implications from that exposure-e.g. clothes on the clothes lines, vegies in the garden, rainwater tanks. That was done on the day, and is covered in the report. What are the town planning requirements? This was raised as an issue after the incident. Council is seen by residents as a conduit for information.
Peter	Asked from a Council point of view is there a difference between week days and week end?
Theo	Replied no. There were 312 hits between Friday afternoon and Monday morning.
John	Stated that is raises a concern in an industrial area. People can rent sheds and we don't know what is stored in them.
Theo	Yes, and this is a concern everywhere. There is a gap in the arrangements. A well known number is required for emergency information, rather than 000 e.g. an 1800 number to contact the Victorian Emergency Information line is now being considered for all emergencies in the state, similar to arrangements for bush fires. A door knock needed to have been done. Perhaps things needed to be done in a more orderly fashion
Bob	Asked if Maribyrnong City Council did a risk assessment on this shed previously?
Theo	Replied that they were not aware of its contents.
Bob	Stated that his understanding is that everything was done right, but the granulated chlorine was stored indoors, which is what created the problem.
Robin	Is this the same matter that Colleen Hartland MLC reported? Will put out a web address. (http://www.electedgreensvictoria.org.au/speech_prn.php?speech=226 provides Colleen's press release).
Theo	Raise community awareness about emergencies, the shelter-in-place procedure. Brochure has been distributed to 15,000 properties. Many contributed financially to producing this brochure and are listed on the brochure (including Terminals Pty Ltd).
John	Asked as the letter drop was a one off, are the letters on the web site?
Theo	Stated yes and we did only distribute to 15,000 properties, asking people to contact the person for further information. Only 1% has been received back, asking to be put on the emergency telephone communication system.
Peter	Stated that he thinks council should put an obligation on all rate payers to assist.
Theo	Stated that legally the Council could not do this.
Robin	Thanked Theo for his presentation. Robin stated that Emergency Services representatives from COGG were invited, but did not want to come to this committee before a protocol they are developing between the CoGG and the relevant Government Agencies was in place. This protocol may be in place by the middle of next year, and the invitation will be refreshed.
Item 6	Comments on Terminals' revised Emergency Plan.
Carlo	Presented Terminals response to the GHD recommendations in its Community Emergency Communication Report. Community Emergency Communication - a final report for comment was previously distributed. The recommendations of the report were not numbered but are referred to in their sequence 1 to 15. General discussion took place regarding Terminals recommendations in response to the recommendations made by GHD. Gary O'Sullivan made notes of amendments' to be made to these recommendations. A summary is provided below:
Rec. 1	Although the plan is not directed at the community, it ought to - and does - address potential off-site impacts. It is therefore recommended to include the "community" in the objectives of the plan. It is also recommended to revise the distribution list so as to include the relevant community. (see3.4). Agreed, but needs clarification.
Rec. 2	Establish and maintain a system to disseminate the information contained in the plan to all parties involved and to check their understanding of the plan. Disagree, the system is already in place
Rec. 3	The scope of information to be provided needs to be reviewed in the light of the community expectations and a systematic process be introduced to reviewing, updating and disseminating this information to the relevant target groups. Agreed.
Rec. 4	The mechanism for reviewing/amending the emergency plan needs to be reviewed and amended, as necessary. Disagree, we already do it.
Rec. 5	The emergency plan should be revised so as to be well structured, succinct, integrated within the Safety Management System, and linked to higher level plans. Agreed
Rec. 6	Revise the list of addresses in line with the relevant community. (see 3.4). Agreed
Rec. 7	Revise all information provided and install a document control system. Have an editor proofread all written information for its legibility and ease of understanding. Disagreed - it is not a public document.
Rec. 8	Install a system to receive, assess and respond to all community concerns. Agreed
Rec. 9	Maintain a community liaison program and continue the variety of activities to disseminate information. Assign clear responsibilities (Community Liaison Officer) to manage this process including establishing, maintaining and keeping up-to-date channels of communication with the community, including local government and the local media. Conduct a periodic (e.g. two-yearly) survey of the targeted and opt-in communities (see 3.4) to test community comfort and satisfaction with communication. Agreed in principle: the TGCCC, the annual reporting and periodic open days at the site all contribute to meeting the requirements. Site Manager Gary O'Sullivan fulfils the role of Community Liaison Officer.
Rec. 10	Terminals put to the TGCCC for endorsement that the need for any interested person to become informed, at any time, would be satisfied by up-to-date emergency information, and information about activities, in a readily accessible data pool (e.g. Terminals' website) and directly upon request. Agreed
Rec. 11	TGCCC determine an acceptable non-technical boundary to define its targeted community. Agreed. The boundary should be developed on a rational basis.
Action	Terminals to bring forward a proposal for the boundary for the targeted community for consideration at the February 2009 meeting.
Rec. 12	Terminals put to the TGCCC whether an opt-in boundary defined by the City of Geelong boundary would be acceptable. Disagree - Terminals will consider any request by people to opt-in, no matter where they live.
Rec. 13	Terminals review and update the Safety Case boundaries whenever any changes to on-site operations occur. Agreed
Rec. 14	Before an incident, communication methods currently in use by Terminals (Terminals website, TGCCC meetings, special public meetings, media releases, open days, annual pamphlets, letters to residents) be implemented systematically to the Targetted and Opt-in communities. Terminals establishes a community call-in hotline and distributes toe the Targetted and Opt-in communities fridge magnets with relevant emergency esponse information and the call-in hotline number. During an incident, Terminals updates the community call-in hotline with timely information, identifies and notifies relevant direct need-to-tell contacts, issues timely media updates, and cooperates with communication initiated by controlling authorities. After an incident, Terminals should convene a timely public meeting, with relevant expertise present, to debrief the community. Agreed in principle.
Rec. 15	Before an incident, Terminals should address community preparedness by communicating to the relevant community: Hazards and existing risks (e.e. site materials, inventory, possible incidents). Summary of emergency response procedures. How communication would take place during an incident, including where information can be obtained. If an evacuation were required, how people would be told. During an incident, consistent with the nature and demands of the incident, information provided by Terminals should focus, where relevant and in roughly descending order, on the following: What the relevant community could do immediately. What the relevant community needs to know to be safe, or about impediments (traffic, power cuts). What is known/not known (status of its control, type of risk and incident). When there will be an update. How Terminals is responding. After an incident, consistent with the nature of the incident, Terminals should ensure that relevant expertise is present during a timely public meeting to debrief the community, take feedback and establish response improvements where relevant. Agreed in principle
Peter	Recommendation 9: Peter stated he believes there should be a community liaison program.
George	Site manager Gary O'Sullivan will undertake this task.
Action	Terminals to update Emergency Plan in line with agreed recommendations, for presentation at May 2009 meeting.
Item 7	Reports from Terminals, EPA, Work Cover, CFA, City of Greater Geelong.
Terminals Gary	Presented the Monthly Operations Report: - August, September and October 2008.
Catherine	Requested if there are any chemicals she should know about in the general chemicals?
Gary	Responded that they are basically cleaners. Road transport: - Really haven't impacted on surrounds. Safety: - no los time due to injuries. Site visits and other interests: - New 3 year EBA for operators agreed in principle. 30A application to EPA for burning contents of butadiene isotainer- no response as yet. Have had a meeting with bitumen customers to discuss operational issues. Incident: - Prior to ship arrival to discharge Butadiene, routine check of combustor found combustor flame failure. Root cause: - Coke build up on burner caused flame failure at higher rates. Action: - Cleanup burner and ensure checked as part of regular maintenance. Incident: - Operator failed to align right tank and loaded bitumen from TK 2 - 13 not TK2-15 resulting in bitumen at wrong temp. Root cause: - Inattention by operator caused wrong tank to be selected. Action: - Counsel operator and put in extra check question in loading system. Butadiene Monitoring: - as tabled.
CFA Ian	Information:-Terminals are involved with a table top exercise emergency plan for the Port of Geelong. This is happening on Thursday. No major dramas with Terminals this month.
Pam	CoGG were asked to attend this meeting.
Robin	They have a representative at meetings usually. Because Theo was attending, so Kevin Gard was invited. I rang Kevin to remind - advised wouldn't be able to attend
Catherine	Felt this was not good enough, he should be here along with an EPA representative.
Robin	Will phone and remind them of meeting dates.
Item 8	Decontamination butadiene isotainer for BASF. (follow up advice)
Carlo	John's material was distributed. Carlo advised that there wasn't anything back from the EPA. The article is talking about a small cylinder that is 14 years old. The article concerns 14 year old, uninhibited material open to the air, while the BASF material is 30 months old, inhibited and sealed. Thank you for bringing forward the issues.
Robin	Robin sought clarification on the process Terminals would use to empty the isotainer.
Carlo	Advised that they hoped to get a valve to the vapour open and draw out vapour. As the material is drawn off in vapour form it will be piped to the combustor and burned. When the liquid volume is low, nitrogen will be introduced to make an inert vapour mass. It will be a closed process all the way. If we can't open the valve, the isotainer will be returned.
John	Asked Carlo "As you take butadiene out you will replace it with nitrogen?"
George	Advised that they will not do anything until HASOP.
Sue	Requested who Terminals were dealing with at EPA?
Carlo	Stated Neil. Sent email off to Gavin in the Geelong office and have not heard back yet. Until we get an answer we will not be doing anything.
Action	On approval of 30A, Terminals are to advise the committee.
Pam	Referred back to John Wilson's email we are talking about a container that has been sitting for 30 months exposed to the elements. Personally I am feeling pretty sick about this. No known x-ray at this stage.
Gary	Stated that it won't matter as its contents will not be exposed to oxygen.
Pam	Stated that there was an example in Japan that was sitting in 5 days of heat and exploded. When we try to move this isotainer - Altona to Geelong.
Gary	Stated that is was a sealed container.
George	Part of safety process. If there are any safety issues it won't be moved.
Carlo	Stated that Terminals have the only butadiene combustor available.
Robin	George will not allow it to be moved until all safety issues are dealt with. The normal product valve is jammed. Before Terminals take it all safety issues will be looked at.
John	Gary has stated he feels this is stainless steel, which means it won't get rust in it.
Gary	Historically there has been no problem with them, there have been 100's bought in.
Sue	Perhaps if Terminals are happy for WorkSafe to be approached.
George	Stated that he was happy for this to happen.
John	Know in Japanese case it exploded. How did it happen, information about anything that may have a happened?
Robin	I will send copies of John's emails to WorkSafe, advising them that there is an issue with an isotainer with a faulty valve, Terminal been approached to empty it, a 30a application with EPA has been submitted. Robin will prepare and send to George or Carlo before forwarding it onto WorkSafe.
Action	Robin to advise WorkSafe of TGCCC concerns about the BASF butadiene isotainer.
Item 9	Other Business- confirm meeting dates for 2009.
Robin	2nd February, 30th March, 4th May, 6th July, 31st August, 9th November, 2009
Item 10	Date for next meeting 2nd February, 2009.
Sue	Sue McLean moved a motion of thanks to Robin for Chairing the meetings and Charmaine for taking the minutes, seconded George Horman.
Meeting Closed	8.36pm.