Fire Burns at Qenos Chemical Plant; Ethylene Producer Just Cooling and Protecting From Exposures

Sydney, Australia 2/4/2000- 10:00 AM

A large fire was reported burning at the Qenos chemical plant in Botany Bay today (Friday), a facility that produces 250,000 tons a year of ethylene.

There was no word from Qenos or the owners on whether output was affected.

A Sydney fire brigade spokesman said there had been some evacuations at the plant but declined to comment further.

He said the fire at the plant, owned by Orica Limited - Kemcor (Exxon Mobil) joint venture company Qenos, began at 10:00 a.m. Friday (local time) and was reported as "leaking fuel gas which later became ignited."

"The fire is still burning, virtually all we are doing is cooling and protecting exposures," another spokesman said.

Link:

http://chemsafety.gov/circ/post.cfm?incident_id=4648

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 04, 2000

Answers

For a country of about 20,000,000 people, they sure seem to have a lot of factory explosions, fires, etc, etc, etc maybe because they don't seem to have a problem with reporting these types of diasters.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), February 04, 2000.

Guy, your last comment got me wondering. On another thread you mentioned 'pathetic journalism' with which I agree. Are Aussie news organizations owned by companies like GE, Disney and, soon to be, AOL like ours are? Anyone know?

-- Kyle (fordtbonly@aol.com), February 04, 2000.

Regarding ABC:

For sixty years the ABC has been a distinctive part of the Australian way of life. Australia's only national, non-commercial broadcaster, the ABC has shared its history and development with the growth of our nation.

From its beginnings during the Depression years, the ABC has grown into Australia's largest broadcaster, entertainment and marketing organisation.

It has become an important part of Australia's cultural heritage, fostering the arts and reflecting the nation's cultural diversity.

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 04, 2000.