An acid leak led to multiple fire crews being called out to the MSM Canola Mill on Monday, January 11.
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Following reports of the incident, Molong Fire and Rescue along with crews from Orange and Bathurst Fire and Rescue, NSW Ambulance and Manildra RFS all attended the scene on Dederang St.
Acting Inspector and Central West Duty Commander, Dane Philippe, said a special hazmat unit from Bathurst was also required at the scene.
"Crews responded to the incident at approximately 8.30am on Monday with reports of an acid leak on site," he said.
"Upon arrival crews put on their fully encapsulated suits with breathing apparatus, investigated the site and found a small release of acid had occurred.
"The acid had leaked into a bunded area which is a safety design at the mill and meant it had been contained with no environmental concerns.
"The leak was checked and stopped before clean up got underway including diluting the acid back to neutral pH levels.
"The site was then handed back to MSM Milling at approximately 11.30am."
Inspector Geoff Lovegrove from NSW Ambulance confirmed that a contractor had been affected by the leak.
"NSW Ambulance transported one patient to Orange hospital who had been affected by the chemical," he said.
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"The patient was in a stable condition.
"A second ambulance remained standing by on site while the clean up process was undertaken."
General Manager of Operations for MSM Milling, Lee Nicholson, said that the small leak had been caused by a contractor conducting maintenance.
"The contractor has been on site servicing pumps and equipment," he said.
"He was fitting a new pump and didn't check the lines as per normal procedure.
"A line blockage has then caused an amount of chemical to squirt out and unfortunately hit the contractor.
"Staff on site immediately rendered first aid included full eye washes.
"The contractor was taken to hospital by Ambulance and was released on Monday afternoon suffering from minor chemical burns.
Mr Nicholson said that SafeWork NSW had attended the site and were happy with MSM MiIlling's safety procedures that were in place.
SafeWork NSW were contacted for comment regarding the incident.
"SafeWork NSW attended an incident at Manildra yesterday," a spokesperson said.
"As enquiries are ongoing, no further comment can be made at this time."
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