A minor chlorine leak at the Canexus North Vancouver plant early Wednesday morning sent two employees to hospital and a third to on-site first-aid to be treated for respiratory issues.
Residents in the area first heard the chemical plant’s sirens going off around 6 a.m. when a mechanical failure led to a small leak in the loading area of the plant as workers were filling a tanker truck.
Plant manager Rick Denton said that the leak was contained by the time emergency response crews arrived soon after.
“There was no off-site impact and no danger to the public or surrounding communities,” said Denton.
An investigation into the root cause of the incident is underway, according to Denton.
“The plant continues to operate; however, rail car loading of chlorine in the system where the leak occurred has been stopped until such time as the cause and correction can be successfully completed,” Denton said.
The plant produces chlor-alkali, a compound used to create caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, and bleach.
The three affected Canexus employees are expected to make a full recovery.
WorkSafeBC is now in charge of investigating the workplace injuries and assessing whether safety regulations were being followed at the time of the leak.
The North Shore Emergency Management Office was notified and put on standby, said director Dorit Mason, but no further action was taken as the incident was contained.
The alarms, however, triggered anxiety among residents in earshot who had no way of knowing whether the incident was putting them in harm’s way.
Rob Stokes said the horns scared him to the point he contemplated evacuating his family to higher ground. After the alarms abated, he spent much of the day contacting the company, the district and Port Metro Vancouver looking for an explanation.
“It was very, very frustrating,” he said.
In partnership with the Emergency Management Office, Canexus funds a rapid notification system that sends out a mass message to landlines listed in the white pages in case of emergency with safety instructions. But the company has discretion over when it’s going to be used. That’s something the District of North Vancouver is planning to take up with the company.
“We’re going to have a discussion with Canexus,” said David Stuart, chief administrative officer. “If they’ve got a localized incident that they can manage and contain and it doesn’t affect the community, maybe the alarm system needs to be different – something that would notify their employees on site rather than distress the community.”
Alternatively, if they must use the siren, the company ought to use the rapid notification system to let community members know whether or not they’re in any danger, Stuart added.
Anyone can sign up for the rapid notifications to be delivered to their landlines, cellphones or emails at nsemo.org/rapid-notify-sign-up
Spills at the site are rare, Stuart added.
“If it’s really minor, we may or may not be notified. I can tell you it’s very, very infrequent – even the localized ones,” he said.
Over the long term, Canexus is changing its business model so there will be much less chemical stored at the site, added Mayor Richard Walton.
“They’ve been very good corporate citizens over the years. We’ve worked pretty closely with them. They’ve come to us with any changes over the years,” he said.
– with files from Brent Richter
