Salini Impregilo-NRW can confirm that on Thursday 27 June, a worker assigned to operating a water pump at the low point of one of its tunnels had a slurry/water mix splash in to his gumboots.
After he reported discomfort, he was referred to Fiona Stanley Hospital.
Worksafe attended the work site and issued a notice to reduce the water to a level where it could not enter the top of a worker’s gumboots. This recommendation was acted upon immediately.
We are in regular contact with the employee and offering continued support, and he is keen to return to work.
We continue to be committed to the safe and successful delivery of the Forrestfield-Airport Link. Construction has been under way for about 33 months, during which time more than 4.3 million man hours have been worked.
Our primary goal is to reach the end of each day with no safety incidents and we do not hesitate to make improvements that are identified to reduce any risks.
Regarding water in the tunnel
During construction, it is not unusual for slurry and water to be found at the lowest points of the tunnels; this is a natural part of advancing tunnelling and extending pipe work to the tunnel boring machines.
Temporary pumps are in place to remove any water or slurry build up on a regular basis, and we continue to optimise and improve the efficiency of the dewatering installations. The temporary pumps will remain in place until the permanent sump and pumping system is installed.
