At least two workers have been exposed to asbestos at a power station in the Latrobe Valley.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) says two workers were working near ducts around a gas turbine at the Jerralang power station when they were “showered” with asbestos.

Jeeralang is a 450-megawatt gas power station built in the 1970s. Its owner, Energy Australia, has confirmed two workers were working in an area with components “identified as potentially containing asbestos” and the matter had been reported to WorkSafe.

The CFMEU wants to know if more people could have been exposed.

“There seems to be an oversight in compliance to those regulations and procedures when you suspect that any piece of plant would contain asbestos,” the union’s construction and general organiser for Gippsland, Toby Thornton, told the ABC.

“That hadn't been adhered to and the workers were given direction to remove a piece of plant in a duct work around a turbine and unfortunately they were showered with a substance or a material which later on was identified as asbestos.”

The union said that wind conditions on the day could have contaminated other parts of the site, and has also asked questions about decontamination protocols.

Energy Australia said staff “responded appropriately and according to our processes”, and that asbestos removal specialists will visit the plant soon.