THIS photograph shows alumina hydrate spewing
into the air at a Northern Territory mine.
The hydrate contains caustic soda, which can cause severe burns.
But Rio Tinto-owned Alcan says there's nothing to worry about - allowing tonnes of hydrate to spill while being loaded on to ships for export is harmless.
It admitted that 30 tonnes of hydrate was dropped straight into Melville Bay near Nhulunbuy last month.
But in a statement issued from its Brisbane office, the company said there was "no environmental harm or risk to employees or community members".
Workers at the multibillion-dollar bauxite mine disagree.
They said the photograph showed the extent of the problem.
"Tonnes of hydrate is lost during every shipment," one worker said. "It goes into the air and into the harbour."
He said the Northern Territory Government would carry out its own investigation into the pollution.
Alcan said it was reviewing ship loading procedures at the port.
Meanwhile, the woman who runs the wharfies' smoko room at Darwin's East Arm Wharf was given three hour's notice to get out.
The canteen was closed after WorkSafe began investigating reports the demountable was regularly coated with copper concentrate.
"It was inconvenient to be told to get out at such short notice," the woman said. "But I didn't really care - I didn't make much money out of it anyway."
The Northern Territory Government's Environment Department is carrying out a series of investigations after the NT News revealed that tonnes of concentrate had been washed into Darwin Harbour.
The Port Corporation broke the law by not reporting the pollution.
