Stockton residents are calling on the state government to tighten laws governing the storage of a massive stockpile of ammonium nitrate less than a kilometre from their homes.
All ammonium nitrate storages presently require a licence from SafeWork NSW. Quantities exceeding 2,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate or 5,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilisers also require a major hazard facility licence.
The government is proposing to only licence facilities to store ammonium nitrate if they comply with new standard separation distances from populated areas and infrastructure.
Orica presently stores on average between 6000 and 12,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate at Kooragang Island.
In its submission to a discussion paper, the Stockton Community Group has called for the introduction of regulations equivalent to those in Western Australia.
This would mean that the maximum stockpile that could be stored at the plant would be less than 200 tonnes.
"We note ammonium nitrate at the Orica plant on Kooragang Island is stored and managed to reduce the risk of accidental explosion," the group's submission says.
"However, this doesn't mean the risk is reduced to a level acceptable to the community and we have seen accidents and Black Swan events around the world resulting in ammonium nitrate explosions causing loss of life, injury and damage to property and infrastructure."
There have been more than 10 ammonium nitrate explosions around the world since 2000, including an explosion in Beirut in 2020 that killed 218 people and injured 7000 others.
An online petition calling for Orica's ammonium nitrate store to be relocated following the explosion attracted close to 15,000 signatures.
The community group cites scenarios including fire, explosion, terrorism and aircraft crash that could potentially detonate the Orica stockpile.
Industrial explosives expert Tony Richards told the Newcastle Herald in 2020 that an explosion would be felt in Sydney and cause major damage as far away as Charlestown.
An Orica spokeswoman said the company welcomed the SafeWork NSW ammonium nitrate discussion paper.
"We are currently reviewing the paper and developing our response. We're committed to working with regulators and the community to ensure we're constantly improving and meeting the expectations of all stakeholders," she said.
Orica's Kooragang Island ammonium nitrate facility was established in the late 1960s under a radically different planning framework than exists today.
Legislation governing establishment of hazardous facilities in the state had not changed since the early 1990s.
