Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) acknowledges the Court’s decision regarding the alkali release that occurred in March 2022.
QAL entered guilty pleas to three charges brought by the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) – one relating to environmental harm and two for breaching conditions of our Environmental Authority.
The Court has issued a penalty of $1 million. A conviction has also been recorded.
QAL accept The Court’s decision, acknowledge the seriousness of the incident, and sincerely apologise for not meeting the expectations of our community and ourselves.
All properties affected by the release have been assessed and remediation completed. There were no environmental or human health impacts reported from the event.
QAL has taken significant steps to prevent a recurrence. This includes a $13.2 million upgrade program to replace all carbon steel fittings in our high-pressure circuit with nickel-lined pipes, which have a greater resistance to erosion and a simpler maintenance program to prevent future incidents. We have also completed our five-year environmental improvement program, investing over $450 million across more than 70 projects to reduce environmental risks, including a comprehensive update to our Process Safety Management System.
With a 58-year history in Gladstone, we are part of this community. We’ve learned from this incident and remain committed to being a responsible, trusted neighbour and improving our environmental performance.
QAL will continue to work closely with regulators to meet the highest environmental and safety standards, ensuring we build a stronger, more sustainable future for our people, community and environment.
