Aussie pet food company agrees to pay $1.3 million after 'serious' environmental incident
The acid is a common ingredient in pet food, and often used in very small quantities to improve flavour or prolong shelf-life. But the scope of the incident was so serious, emergency HAZMAT crews were called in to respond, and they discovered the liquid had spread across multiple floors.
Jason Gordon, the EPA executive director of regulatory operations, described the 2023 event as a 'serious chemical spill', which therefore 'demanded' a response from emergency services.
'Fortunately, no environmental harm occurred, but the potential risk was significant,' he added.
Pictures supplied to Yahoo News show the plastic tank that overflowed was severely discoloured by the spill. It occurred due to a faulty valve inside the factory's production tower.
What changes will the pet food factory make?
Under the agreement, Australian Pet Brands, will spend over $1 million relocating its acid dosing system from the top to the ground floor. It will also automate manual systems and improve training to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents.
'These changes will not only make the site safer for workers, but they'll also provide stronger protection for the environment by improving how chemicals are stored, handled and monitored,' Gordon said.
🥊 Aussie publican receives death threats after filming controversial act with kangaroo
🔎 Rare species with less than a thousand in the wild tracked down
☠️ Warning signs placed around Australian shopping centre after mass poisoning
The company will also pay $75,000 to a local environmental charity. The EPA said the outcome holds the company to account while also helping to improve safety at the site.
Australian Pet Brands has been contacted for comment.
Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
The Hidden Cost of Norway's $2 Trillion Fortune
A new book argues wealth is making Norway complacent, an Austrian heiress extracts herself from the 1%, and Australia's former PM talks Trump. By Save Welcome to the weekend! Donald Trump's tariffs continue to pose challenges for manufacturers, including YKK, the world's largest supplier of a product introduced in 1893 with the name 'clasp-locker.' What product is it? Find out with this week's Pointed quiz.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Australia, Britain sign 50-year AUKUS submarine partnership treaty
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's government said on Saturday it signed a treaty with Britain to bolster cooperation over the next 50 years on the AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership. The AUKUS pact, agreed upon by Australia, Britain and the U.S. in 2021, aims to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the next decade to counter China's ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration announced a formal review of the pact this year. Defence Minister Richard Marles said in a statement that the bilateral treaty was signed with Britain's Defence Secretary John Healey on Saturday after a meeting in the city of Geelong, in Victoria state. "The Geelong Treaty will enable comprehensive cooperation on the design, build, operation, sustainment, and disposal of our SSN-AUKUS submarines," the statement said. The treaty was a "commitment for the next 50 years of UK-Australian bilateral defence cooperation under AUKUS Pillar I", it said, adding that it built on the "strong foundation" of trilateral AUKUS cooperation. Britain's ministry of defence said this week that the bilateral treaty would underpin the two allies' submarine programmes and was expected to be worth up to 20 billion pounds ($27.1 billion) for Britain in exports over the next 25 years. AUKUS is Australia's biggest-ever defence project, with Canberra committing to spend A$368 billion over three decades to the programme, which includes billions of dollars of investment in the U.S. production base. Australia, which this month paid A$800 million to the U.S. in the second instalment under AUKUS, has maintained it is confident the pact will proceed. The defence and foreign ministers of Australia and Britain held talks on Friday in Sydney on boosting cooperation, coinciding with Australia's largest war games. As many as 40,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercises held from July 13 to August 4, which Australia's military has said are a rehearsal for joint warfare to maintain Indo-Pacific stability. Britain has significantly increased its participation in the exercise co-hosted by Australia and the United States, with aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales taking part this year.
