Guard of honour for worker killed in Norske Skog paper mill in suspected hydrogen sulphide gas leak
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A guard of honour has been formed for an employee who was killed in a workplace accident near Albury, on the NSW-Victoria border.
Benjamin William Pascall, 28, was one of two workers killed at Norske Skog paper mill after a suspected hydrogen sulphide gas leak.
Workers from the paper mill and members of Cathie's Celtic Dance formed a guard of honour outside St Matthew's Anglican Church in Albury on Monday.
Mr Pascall's partner Georgia Webb said everything felt right when they met.
"We had an instant bond and I realised I'd finally found someone I couldn't spend enough time with," Ms Webb said.
"I don't think I'll ever have the right words for Ben. He was not just my partner but my best friend, my soulmate, and the love of my life."
Mr Pascall's eldest sister Samantha remembered him as a life-long friend and her partner in crime.
"I cannot put down in works how incredibly proud of you I am, my beautiful baby brother," said Samantha Pascall.
"I will never forget you and I will never stop loving you."
The eulogy was read by Tom Wraith-Frank and Peter Fisher who said Mr Pascall's sense of humour was 'second to none'.
"He still had so much to give the world and so much time left to do it," Mr Wraith-Frank said.
Mr Pascall was found unconscious at the Norske Skog site at Ettamogah on May 24 after workers were overcome by the gas during routine maintenance.
What is hydrogen sulphide?
- Known as "rotten egg gas" for its unpleasant odour, hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is colourless, flammable and potentially lethal
- The gas is created in the human body during food digestion, and is a by-product of some industrial and manufacturing processes
- At low levels, the gas can cause headaches, eye and skin irritation, shortness of breath and nausea
- At high levels, it can overcome a person and cause loss of consciousness
- There have been suggestions the gas could be used by terrorists, and last year a group in Sydney was accused an attack with the gas
He later died at Albury Base Hospital, along with 36-year-old co-worker Lyndon Quinlivan.
About 150 people were evacuated from the building after the leak, and 18 were taken to hospital, but 14 have since been discharged.
The suspected gas hydrogen sulphide is a colourless gas with the odour of rotten eggs, and can pool in low areas because it is denser than air.
Exposure to high concentrations of the gas can result in pulmonary edema, or excess fluid in the lungs.
Mr Pascall was heavily involved in the community through his swimming, athletics and involvement in Cathie's Celtic Dance.
"We meet as a community in a state of shock and to recognise the was his life has had an impact on us all," said Father Peter Macleod-Miller.
Thomas Johnson, 22, remains on life-support at Albury Wodonga Hospital.
His family said in a statement that he 'is trending in the right direction.'
"We are hoping for a positive outcome however we are acutely aware that this is a very rare condition and that things can change very rapidly," said family of Thomas Johnson in a statement.
Mr Quinlivan, who was a father of two, will be farewelled at St Matthew's on Wednesday.
Topics: workplace, work, death, albury-2640, nsw, wodonga-3690, vic
