Accoridng to a report this past week by ABC Australia, Ultimo, Australia, Visy Industries (Victoria, Australia) has reassured staff at its southern New South Wales pulp and paper mill that the facility's boilers are safe and operating at a world class standard.

The 2015 hazard audit of the Tumut mill outlined that a build-up of chloride in a recovery boiler was causing corrosion, increasing the risk of water tube failure and internal water or smelt explosion.

 

 

In a memo to staff, mill GM Jean Yves Nouaze said speculation that there could be an imminent risk of a catastrophic accident with the boilers had caused unnecessary alarm.

He said the boilers were the most scrutinized equipment on the site, monitored continuously via the mill's central control systems. They were inspected annually by an independent auditor, a boiler specialist from an insurance company, and mill technical staff. Nouaze said cracks and corrosion were common in recovery boilers, and Visy had installed a new recrystallization plant,which had halved chloride levels, ensuring the system was operating as safely as any comparable recovery boiler globally.

In February, the Tumut Mill won a risk improvement award and it is now classified as a highly protected risk facility.