Grey Base Hospital - statement

The Ministry of Health has been notified about a diesel spill in the new boiler house at Grey Base Hospital.

The incident occurred on Tuesday 27 August when a day tank which feeds the diesel boiler was being filled from the main tank. When overflow was noticed by contractors at about 5pm, the system was isolated and shut down. The fuel was contained within a Grey District Council wastewater pumping station near the site.

Estimates for the amount of fuel which overflowed are still being made however there's no indication diesel escaped into water systems or the open environment.

Fletcher Construction has informed the Ministry that it's been working closely with both the West Coast Regional Council and the Grey District Council during the process. A clean-up is underway, including the pumping down and cleaning of Council’s wastewater pump station. Council affected manholes and pipework are being cleaned to remove residual fuel. A final wash of the Council wastewater system will be completed before Council puts their system back into normal operations. All clean-up materials are being contained and disposed of appropriately.

The Ministry of Health, the West Coast DHB and Fletcher Construction take incidents of this nature seriously and are working to understand what happened.