EEDMONTON – All nine workers who were injured in an explosion at an Edmonton plastics plant have been released from hospital.
Contract workers with Westcor Services Ltd. were applying fireproofing to structural steel in a building on the AT Plastics site at 4405 101 Ave. when the explosion occurred nearby, rattling windows and causing alarm among residents of east Edmonton and Strathcona County.
The explosion involved a tank containing organic peroxide and was not believed to have been caused by the fireproofers.
Celanese, which owns AT Plastics, said in a release this afternoon that there was "no significant release of chemicals into the environment," although there was a breach in the containment area for water used to extinguish the fire.
"AT Plastics is working with local regulatory officials to mitigate the issue," the release said.
Earlier in the day, Edmonton fire chief Randy Wolsey said the plan was to ensure there was no runoff from the site.
"There's no risk to the community, and there's no risk to the surrounding businesses," Wolsey told reporters at the site. "We don't believe there's any risk to the environment."
AT Plastics general manager Michael Stubblefield was in the administration building when he heard the thunder-like explosion and the power went out.
"The first thing that went through my mind was, 'What's first on the list? Let's get the response going,' " he said. "And clearly the immediate concern is are there any injuries, and let's start the counting of the heads."
Aside from the contractors, no employees were injured. While there are inherent risks in the plastics industry, "it's absolutely unacceptable anytime there's an injury of any type of severity," Stubblefield said.
Westcor has been in the fireproofing business since 2000. The workers were applying fireproofing material to steel girders by hand when something exploded across the street within the site, which encompasses three city blocks.
"We're in shock as well as everyone else," Maury Bernard, vice-president of Westcor, said earlier today.
Several investigations underway
Alberta Environment says it will be investigating the explosion, as will the Edmonton fire department and Occupational Health and Safety.
The water used to extinguish the fire will be collected, tested and properly disposed of, said Cheryl Robb, a spokeswoman with Alberta Environment.
Ministry staff will also be checking whether the incident at AT Plastics was a result of the company failing to comply with its approvals. Robb noted the last time the ministry was involved with the company was in 1999, when it issued an environmental protection order due to air emissions. Those issues were resolved and there is no indication that this incident is linked to that earlier problem, Robb said.
There is no extra monitoring of air quality going on because the air was only affected by the initial blast, she added.
"AT Plastics understands that local residents are concerned and continues to work with local agencies to ensure the safety, environmental health and the security of our employees and the community," Stubblefield said in a release this afternoon.
"In responding to today's incident, we are appreciative of the efforts of local authorities and agencies. AT Plastics takes incidents of this nature very seriously and will take necessary measures to determine the causes and prevent further instances."
Explosion rocked the area
Crystal Manuel said she was driving past the plant on her way to work when the explosion occurred.
"It made my truck completely shake," she said. "I actually thought that I was hit by something because it sounded like it was in the back of the box of the truck.
"I lost all my radio stations, and my cellphone went dead."
The blast rattled windows blocks away. Joe Gulay lives in Mill Woods, near 40 Avenue and 38 Street. He not only heard the explosion, he felt it. "It shook the whole house," said Gulay.
When Cindy Miller Reade and her family heard the explosion in their Gold Bar home, they initiated their family emergency plan.
"We were just having breakfast and we heard a loud boom following by what sounded like a pffft sound," said Miller Reade, "and we picked up our kids and went down into the basement.
"My son actually asked if there'd been a bomb."
She said that she, her husband Devin and their children, ages 3 and 6, stayed put for a few minutes, then went upstairs to tune in to the coverage on TV.
When the explosion occurred, Charlotte Bliemel was already at work in the Twin Atria building at 49 Street and 98 Avenue.
"I was sitting at my desk when I heard a big boom and the lights in the office flickered off and on," she said. "One of my co-workers went to see if something happened upstairs in the building; I thought someone was just moving furniture and dropped it."
Christine Pearce and her family live across the river from where the explosion occurred, near Rundle Park.
"We live at least 20 to 30 blocks away; I thought a house exploded in our neighbourhood or something," said Pearce. "I ran outside to see if I could figure out what happened, then looked towards the refineries and saw the black smoke.
"When I heard how far away it was, I was surprised – I can't imagine what it was like for people living much closer than us."
Residents could have found out about the explosion much more quickly if AT Plastics was a member of the Northeast Region CAER organization. This partnership of more than 40 industries, municipalities, chemical transporters and government agencies puts out messages on a phone line about industrial activities and emergencies.
Imperial Oil's Strathcona refinery did put out a message about the explosion, but only said that it didn't affect their operations.
Students and staff at Gold Bar, Fulton Place and Capilano schools were kept indoors as a precaution. Students at St. Brendan and St. Gabriel schools were kept inside for morning recess.
Plant runs 24/7; materials highly combustible
AT Plastics, a branch of Celanese (NYSE: CE), describes itself as a leading North American manufacturer of a full range of plastics called copolymers and specialty resins. Its products are used in many applications, including flexible packaging, thermal lamination film, medical products and photo voltaic cells. The plant, which runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, employs between 200 and 250 people.
Organic peroxides can catch fire easily and burn very rapidly and intensely, says the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety.
This is because they combine both fuel (carbon) and oxygen in the same compound. Some organic peroxides are dangerously reactive. If they are detonated, the burn rate in a solid medium is faster than the speed of sound. This supersonic speed results in a shock wave being produced. The shock wave is capable of travelling at speeds of about 2,000 to 9,000 metres per second.
Organic peroxides may also be toxic or corrosive, says the centre. Depending on the material, route of exposure (inhalation, eye or skin contact, or swallowing) and dose or amount of exposure, they could harm the body.
This is not the first time explosions have occurred at the plant.
In February 1992, residents were awakened by an explosion at 4 a.m. after a plant reactor depressurized for an unknown reason, venting carbon dioxide.
A major explosion at the plant in 1982 caused about $5 million in damage when the compressor building blew up. Five of 22 workers were injured, two buildings were destroyed and thousands of windows shattered in nearby homes.
In December 1996, a malfunctioning water deluge system on top of one of the stacks at the plant failed to work during a controlled pressure release.
A loud boom followed, accompanied by a 50-metre flame and a thick plume of black smoke.
The plant does about four such releases a year, but the noise is muffled by water deluge systems that absorb the shock waves.
hbrooymans@thejournal.canwest.com
azabjek@thejournal.canwest.com
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