Herald Sun
Rio Tinto subsidiary fined $160,000 over spill
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
A SUBSIDIARY of mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd has been fined $160,000 after admitting to a large fuel spill in the Northern Territory last year.
Alcan Gove Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Darwin Magistrates Court today to causing serious environmental harm and was fined $160,000 by magistrate Michael Carey.
The company leaked 62,000 litres of unleaded petrol from a storage tank in June last year in eastern Arnhem Land, where it runs the Gove alumina refinery.
The company was phasing out using the unleaded petrol, in favour of the "non-sniffable" Opal fuel, and was trying to empty the tank to sell the fuel when the spill occurred.
The leak sparked fears petrol could discharge into Melville Bay via contaminated groundwater.
Gove's general manager of operations, Julio Costa, said the company was sorry the spill had occurred and accepted responsibility for it.
It had spent $3 million to clean up the site and more rigorous inspection methods were now in place, Mr Costa said in a statement.
The refinery would continue to monitor soil and groundwater and undertake more clean-ups if required, he said.
A spokesman for the company said none of the fuel had been detected in Melville Bay.
The co-ordinator of the NT Environment Centre, Stuart Blanch, welcomed the fact that the company had pleaded guilty to the charge and said it might be the largest pollution fine ever meted out in the territory.
Alcan Gove Pty Ltd pleaded guilty in the Darwin Magistrates Court today to causing serious environmental harm and was fined $160,000 by magistrate Michael Carey.
The company leaked 62,000 litres of unleaded petrol from a storage tank in June last year in eastern Arnhem Land, where it runs the Gove alumina refinery.
The company was phasing out using the unleaded petrol, in favour of the "non-sniffable" Opal fuel, and was trying to empty the tank to sell the fuel when the spill occurred.
The leak sparked fears petrol could discharge into Melville Bay via contaminated groundwater.
Gove's general manager of operations, Julio Costa, said the company was sorry the spill had occurred and accepted responsibility for it.
It had spent $3 million to clean up the site and more rigorous inspection methods were now in place, Mr Costa said in a statement.
The refinery would continue to monitor soil and groundwater and undertake more clean-ups if required, he said.
A spokesman for the company said none of the fuel had been detected in Melville Bay.
The co-ordinator of the NT Environment Centre, Stuart Blanch, welcomed the fact that the company had pleaded guilty to the charge and said it might be the largest pollution fine ever meted out in the territory.
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