I am objecting to Incitec's proposed amonnium nitrate plant on Kooragang Island. If this plant goes ahead it will have the capacity to store thousands of tonnes of amonnium nitrate. Together with its proposed neighbor, Orica (which has a very bad public safety record) the two plants will hold enough ammonium nitrate to cause an explosion that some experts have estimated up to 75% of the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima during World War Two.
Please prevent this from happening.

UNACCEPTABLE RISK.

Based on the information I have to date:

Already we have large quantities of Ammonia Nitrate stored on a neighbouring site (Orica facility) which has the potential to kill and injure people within a 5km plus radius.

If this development was to be approved we are further adding to the risk of a large scale disaster.

The information I have is that these risks are real and there are examples of ammonia nitrate based disasters on record. Note, the quatities involved in historic disasters are nothing like the quantum's being proposed to be stored on Kooragang Island.

There is no evidence that these risks can be manage to the extent they are acceptable.

I object this application because:

1. It is too close to homes and families (less than 1km from my home) - I fear for my own and my families safety due to the risk of explosion from storing 30,000 of ammonium nitrate. I experience anxiety at the thought of this application becoming a reality.

2. The increase in danger and risk of injury of transporting ammonium nitrate solution by trucks to Warkworth. This will create extra truck transport on the already congested Kooragang Island road and Hunter Valley roads from coal trucks.

3. The health and wellbeing of local fauna, flora and our waterways due to the production of ammonium nitrate and the waste products it would create.

I am not confident that the site would be managed safely as other industries nearby have been deceitful in their safety and accountability records.

I have lived in Stockton and Fern Bay for 56 years and have not been as fearful for the future of our local area ever before.

It is not just Stockton but the future of the suburbs in a 5-10 km radius from this proposed site that would be affected if an explosion occurs.

It is not acceptable for a site such as this to be built near homes and families.

I believe this submission should not go ahead as it provides an unacceptable risk to the residents of Stockton and Seaside Fern Bay.

I believe residents in Stockton are entitled to the same environmental protections as every other Australian citizen. I find it incredulous that a fertilizer manufacturer would from the outset try to duck out of its environmental requirements even before they start as evidenced by the attempt to re zone Stockton as an industrial / residential transition zone.

Incitec I believe are setting up to compete with orica and as such will be competing on price. Therefore there will be every incentive for them to cut costs on order to get the business. This is a bad start and has significant potential for harm Ro my area, my kids and my life. This I wholeheartedly object to the incited development proposal. Incidentally I have no objection to oricas proposals which seem to be far more safety conscious and not so business profit driven to the exclusion of my safety.

Sincerely.

I am writing to object to the proposed chemical manufacturing plant on Kooragang Island (application number SSD-4986).

I am opposed as this plant represents a serious risk to myself, my family and my community. I understand the incitec plant will be built next to the orica plant which has a terrible public safety record.

I am deeply concerned that an explosion could result in the destruction of my home and community and that my children, husband friends and other residents of stockton could be killed in such an explosion.

I am also concerned about air, water and soil pollution.

I am lastly concerned about the effect on housing prices.