A chemical manufacturer could be hit with $9 million in fines over a massive factory blaze that blanketed a suburb in hazardous smoke and leaked potentially toxic pollutants into waterways.
The inferno at a Derrimut factory in Melbourne's west in July 2024 was one of the city's biggest industrial fires in years.
While there were no injuries, explosions sent chemical drums flying into the air, and it took more than 180 firefighters four hours to control the blaze.
WorkSafe on Tuesday charged chemical manufacturer ACB Group with three counts of failing to maintain a safe working environment, and two counts of failing to take reasonable precautions as an occupier of a premises where dangerous goods are manufactured and stored.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $1.78 million in fines.
The catastrophic fire, sparked by a static electricity discharge while workers were decanting dangerous goods from a bulk container into a 20-litre drum, gutted the factory.
The workplace watchdog alleges the company failed to provide and maintain safe systems of work by not providing adequate training and necessary supervision to workers, while also failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent a fire or explosion.
More than three million litres of water and 40,000 litres of foam were used to fight the towering flames fulled by drums containing kerosene, methylated spirits, methanol and other substances stored at the site.
Authorities had to pump wastewater for offsite treatment, block stormwater drains with sandbags, and deploy containment booms to stop pollutants spreading downstream.
Residents were told to stay away from local waterways and real-time sensors had to be installed at different points to monitor pollutant levels.
ACB Group will appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 9.
The same manufacturer and its manager, an Altona Meadows man, were also charged with breaching work health and safety laws over a fatal fire at the same site nine months before the 2024 blaze.
A 44-year-old worker died and two others were injured in October 2023 following an explosion at the same building which housed the chemical blending company and fuel producer Powerplus.
ACB Group and its manager will face a committal mention over the fatal fire on July 29.
