Sydney Metro tunnel workers exposed to a ‘silica tsunami’, claims union

The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has claimed that during the construction of Sydney’s Metro train service, workers are being exposed to a “silica tsunami”.

Tunnel workers cutting the large passages for Sydney’s Metro transport have reportedly been exposed to toxic silica dust levels, according to the AWU, which has claimed it acquired secret documents that display this.

According to the union, documents obtained through freedom of information laws have shown that tunnellers are being exposed to cancer-causing dust while building government projects like Metro West and Metro City and Southwest.

The union stated that one in three air quality tests during the construction of Metro City and Southwest exceeded the Workplace Exposure Standard (WES), some by 208 times, according to these secret documents obtained from Transport for NSW (TfNSW).

This also included air quality reports at the three Metro West sites currently being bored, which showed that silica dust levels have exceeded the WES one in seven times. The WES is 0.05 milligrams per cubic metre.

Civil engineering companies need to come clean about the health impacts of tunnelling on their workers, said Chris Donovan, assistant national secretary of the AWU.

“No Australian in 2024 should be poisoned by toxic dust at work, not with the technology we have today. Sydneysiders would be ropable if they knew the new metro they were sitting on, or the underground motorway they were driving through came at the expense of someone’s health,” Donovan said.

The union went on to say that the data shows tunnelling using roadheaders exposes workers to silica dust levels far greater than engineered stone kitchen benchtops, which were banned after an AWU campaign.

However, as AWU states, only a small amount of tunnelling happens with roadheaders on Sydney Metro. For example, projects like NorthConnex, WestConnex, M6 stage 1, and Western Harbour Tunnel all use roadheaders during construction. This is because they need a flatter, wider tunnel to accommodate three lanes plus of traffic.

On these tunnel construction sites, Safe Work NSW conducts the air quality tests, rather than TfNSW, which the AWU claims has been withheld from the public and kept secret.

Once again, the AWU claimed that Safe Work NSW refused to release the data, citing concerns over potential negative reputational impact on the companies involved in construction, such as CPB Contractors (CPB) and John Holland.

In an alleged letter to the AWU, Safe Work NSW said: “Release of the reports will … adversely impact upon the reputation of CPB … because it is reasonable to expect that the reports will lead to adverse media coverage in respect of the management of health risks, including the risks presented by respirable dust and RCS (respirable crystalline silica).”

Despite this, the AWU were able to obtain this information, courtesy of the Honourable Mark Banasiak MLC. This information from Safe Work NSW and additional information from Sydney Metro and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) will be delivered to Banasiak on 18 December.