4 July 2025

As a WorkSafe prosecution comes to a close, two workers overcome by fumes from a toxic gas pit have for the first time told of their experience of narrowly dodging death.

The men were doing an excavation, to try to fix the smell of rotting plasterboard at the Taylorville Resource Park near Greymouth in August 2023. The smell was hydrogen sulphide and the workers were not told of dangerously high levels of the toxic, colourless gas measured weeks before at the contaminated waste facility.

The excavator operator went into the pit to clear a pump blockage but as he was climbing out fell unconscious and face down into black liquid at the base of the pit, known as leachate. His supervisor saw this from above and twice fell unconscious while trying to rescue him. He eventually managed to climb out and call for help.

WorkSafe found inadequate risk assessment and planning for the excavation work, workers not being advised of the risks of hydrogen sulphide, and no gas monitors available on site. Two companies were prosecuted for health and safety failures and have now been sentenced in the Greymouth District Court.

Both survivors have permanent name suppression. The supervisor suffered from toxic gas exposure and now lives with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Every night for the first six months after the incident and now once a week, I wake up suffering flashbacks thinking I am still in the pit, not being able to breathe, and thinking I am going to die,” says the 64-year-old who has not been able to work since.

Although the man has been left “in a dark financial situation” he says there have been other losses too.

“My entire social circle consisted solely of my workmates so when I lost my job, I suddenly lost my social network and became socially isolated and alone… losing my social circle has probably been my biggest loss.”

“This incident has taken away my life, all my goals and aspirations can no longer be achieved. The mental, physical, and financial impacts have had a profound impact in every area of my life and will continue to do so for a long time.”

The operator suffered chemical burns to his eyes, chemical pneumonitis, atrial fibrillation, and seizures. He is now 38 and has returned to work. He has no memory of the incident, although he says he “feels bad for what happened” to his colleague “and the stress he had to go through when he pulled me out of the leachate”.

WorkSafe’s role is to influence businesses to meet their responsibilities and keep people healthy and safe.

“We salute the courage it has taken for these two survivors to stay strong throughout our investigation and prosecution,” says WorkSafe’s Inspectorate Head, Rob Pope.

“The experience these men have gone through was both terrifying and completely avoidable. It’s only by sheer luck that both survived. Businesses must manage their health and safety risks, and when they do not we will hold them to account.”

Read WorkSafe's guidance on preventing harm from hydrogen sulphide

Background

• Taylorville Resource Park Limited and Paul Smith Earthmoving 2002 Ltd were sentenced at Greymouth District Court on 4 July 2025.
• Taylorville Resource Park was fined $302,500 and Paul Smith Earthmoving $272,250. Reparations of $81,256 were also ordered.
• Both entities were charged under sections 48(1) and (2)(c) and s 36(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
  • Being a PCBU having a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers who work for the PCBU, while the workers were at work in the business or undertaking, namely carrying out the excavation and associated work to access the base of Cell C (the excavation work), did fail to comply with that duty, and that failure exposed workers to a risk of death or serious injury.
• The maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding $1.5 million.