Orica Kooragang Plant Exceeded Nitrogen Oxide Limit By 27% In FY11

Orica Ltd.'s (ORI.AU) Kooragang Island explosives and fertilizer plant has exceeded limits on emissions of potentially toxic nitrogen oxide gases by as much as 27% over the past three years, according to documents reviewed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Licensing data shows that the site emitted 822,064 kilograms of nitrogen oxides in the year to the end of March 2011, and 701,713 kilograms in the year to the end of March 2009. The maximum emissions permitted under the site's licence are 644,950 kilograms.

The Kooragang plant is a vital link in the global coal industry, supplying 85% of the ammonium nitrate explosives used in the Hunter Valley mines feeding Australia's Newcastle port, the world's largest coal export harbor.

But supplies of explosives in the Hunter have become critically low after the site was shuttered Nov. 9, following a leak of ammonia gas which drifted across the Hunter River and caused two workers in the suburb of Mayfield to be hospitalized.

A spokeswoman for Orica said: "We strive to work within our license requirements and we're looking at activities in the future to continue to reduce our nitrogen oxide emissions."

-By David Fickling, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]