Tegal staff raised concerns about chemical exposure and several leaks before worker hospitalised, says union
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The workers' union Etū says staff at Tegal's Christchurch plant have been raising concerns about chemical exposure for the last year and are not being taken seriously.
It comes after a worker was hospitalised on Monday after high levels of chloramine were found in the air.
Chloramine, a compound containing chlorine and ammonia, is used at the plant as a disinfectant to reduce bacterial contamination in chicken.
St John said one person was assessed at the scene and transported to Christchurch Hospital in a moderate condition.
They are now understood to be recovering at home.
A spokesperson for Tegal said an extraction fan fault, which had since been addressed, was to blame for the chemical exposure.
But Etū organiser Sara Currey said staff at the Christchurch plant had been dealing with issues for the last year and Tegel needed to work with the union and its delegates to find a solution.
"The workers have been reporting that there have been several chemical leaks over the last six to 12 months, and they've been raising concerns around the chemical exposure and other health and safety risks for months, but Tegel has failed to act on it."
She said there had been another chemical exposure event in June, as well as the one on Monday.
Currey said she understood that chloramine had been used in the plant for a long time, but a change in process last year had led to issues with higher than acceptable levels.
"Many workers have been experiencing red eyes, sore eyes, swelling of the eyes so that they can't see, a lot of vomiting...and coughing, horrific coughing that some people have needed to be medicated for."
In one case, ACC had accepted a claim for a staff members work-related illness.
She said of the 250-odd workforce, many were immigrants for whom English wasn't their first language and around 70 were union members.
"We're mainly concerned that Tegel haven't been up front with either the workers or the union about what's happened. I still don't have key questions I've asked about Monday's incident, no information about why it happened, why people weren't sent home and why the plant was continuing to operate after a possible chemical leak."
Currey said it was estimated around 60 people were off work after the exposure on Tuesday and it wasn't clear if they were sent home on full pay or if they were made to use their sick leave, which was not acceptable if they had become ill while at work.
"Obviously this chemical is causing significant issues and they need to explore other avenues rather than just keep trying to make this chemical work, which it's clearly not in terms of health and safety for their workers."
A Tegal spokesperson said the high level of chloramine detected in the plant on Monday was due to an extraction fan fault in the room where the chemical was used.
"This issue compounded by atmospheric conditions on Monday led to fumes being blown directly into the air intake for the production plant which caused some staff to experience irritated eyes and coughing."
The spokesperson said some people chose to go home, while others continued to work using personal protective equipment (PPE).
One person was taken to hospital for observation and later released.
The spokesperson said corrective actions were taken as soon as the cause was identified, and levels were now back to normal and would continue to be monitored.
"We take the health and safety of our people seriously and are supporting those who have experienced discomfort or health impacts. We are also working with extraction system specialists to ensure this cannot happen again."
Issues with high chloramine levels had occurred "periodically in the past" and a new air handling unit had been installed and was working successfully until the issue on Monday.
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