One spent time in intensive care, the other has post-traumatic stress disorder.
Paul Smith Earthmoving (2002) Ltd and Taylorville Resource Park Ltd were both charged with failing to comply with duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
Neither company was present in the Greymouth District Court on Tuesday; however, guilty pleas were entered through lawyers for both. A referral to restorative justice was sought.
A summary of facts was agreed to for sentencing. In September, the court heard a 15-page summary of facts, including an expert opinion.
The charges stem from an incident at the landfill in August 2023, when two men working at the bottom of the pit were overcome by fumes. One managed to scramble to safety to call emergency services. The Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade used lines-rescue equipment to reach the other worker, and he was taken to hospital with critical injuries.
According to the summary of facts, staff became aware of a strong smell (akin to rotten eggs) in January 2023.
When a specialist placed the gas detector above the manhole cover, it immediately went into alarm mode and the reading went off the range of the detector.
Fencing, signs and a drainage system were arranged.
Months later, at the time of the incident, Taylorville was undertaking work to reduce the smell of the H2S (hydrogen sulphide) around Cell C. Taylorville's plan was to lower the water level in that cell.
However, the workers were also not advised of the risks of H2S, the summary says.
One "knew it smelt, but I didn't know the gases were dangerous".
One stated Taylorville Resource Park "told us the smell won't kill you. It's just only one sort of gas".
On August 3, they found the deeper down in the pit, the stronger the smell.
No gas testing was carried out prior to or during the excavation work, nor were there any gas monitors available at the site, the summary says.
Once they hit the water near the pit bottom, one hopped on the bucket of the excavator and began drilling holes in the riser from the bucket.
One man realised the drilling needed to occur below the waterline and went to organise a pump.
But the pump did not appear to be drawing up liquid and one indicated he was going down into the bottom of the hole to clear any obstructions. The other told him not to do so.
However, he did and was overcome by the toxic gas in the hole.
"This caused him to become unconscious and fall face down into the leachate at the bottom of the hole."
His colleague jumped into hole to rescue him. He dragged him on to a bank in the hole (near the pump) before he too fell unconscious.
He regained consciousness and attempted to climb out of the hole before again being overcome by the gas and falling unconscious. He fell backwards into the leachate, woke again and successfully managed to climb out of the hole. He then called for help.
One man was flown to Christchurch Hospital and admitted to intensive care. He was discharged from hospital three days later. His primary diagnosis was chemical burns to the eyes with a secondary diagnosis of chemical pneumonitis and seizures secondary to toxic fumes.
The other man had toxic-gas exposure and has post-traumatic stress disorder.
The summary says: "Taylorville had limited health and safety systems developed at the time of the incident and relied on PSE [personal safety equipment] using their own job safety analysis (JSAs) and toolbox talks."
Taylorville Resource Park Ltd (TRPL) said in a statement this week it welcomed the WorkSafe investigations.
''Health and safety systems and protocols on site have also been reviewed, and invested in significantly."
Judge Michael Crosbie convicted both companies, and set a sentencing date of July 4. — Greymouth Star
