Health risks low, environmental impact not yet known after SSonix fire in St. Catharines: officials

City and provincial officials gave assurances there’s little health risk for residents in Port Weller, two months after exposure to a chemical fire in mid-January which saw nearby neighbourhoods evacuated.

Some 100-plus attendees joined authorities for a town hall at the Grantham Lions Club Wednesday to hear an official update on the blaze at a waste disposal site run by Ssonix products on Keefer Road, in St. Catharines, Ont.

Officers from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) reassured neighbours there has been little impact to air quality since the Jan. 12 event, however some volatile organic compounds and metals have been discovered in adjacent ditches as well as tributaries that will need remediation.

“Our preliminary results are showing douse water impacts in those ditches adjacent to the creek, (they’ll) probably need some cleanup activities at some point,” Niagara Region MOE supervisor Taylor Buck said.

With close to 11.5 million litres of douse water administered via firefighters to contain the blaze, Buck said soil and sediment sampling has been undertaken at “downwind locations” — areas believed to have been most impacted.

Buck said all of the available sample results are currently under review by ministry experts and testing will likely be completed the week of March 20th.

“Cleanup is underway and measures are in place to prevent further off-site migration,” Buck revealed.

“Some of the other members of our neighbour team continue to inspect the site on a routine basis to monitor the cleanup activities and to assess the integrity of the site’s containment measures.”

St Catharines fire chief Dave Upper told attendees that the site is also being managed by EFI Global — consultants working with Ssonix on containment and disposal of remaining chemicals and water contained in frac tanks.

EFI is also working with the MOE in the surrounding neighborhood as well.

“It will provide support to the investigating agencies as they need, and then we want to try to keep you folks updated as best we can and assure you that we’re keeping everything safe,” said Upper.

The ministry is still awaiting responses to 700 letters sent to residents soliciting impact reports. Ministry investigators say about 100 have been returned so far.

A spokesperson for Niagara Public Health said the concentration of chemicals that may have become airborne the day of the fire, and after, did not reached levels to cause any “significant health risk.”

Associate medical officer of health Dr. Azim Kasmani told onlookers that they’ve reviewed three air samples taken by the MOE,  first at a pair of nearby schools during the fire and a week later at downwind locations.

“The initial concentration of chemicals in the air that day were below the levels that would cause a significant health risk,” Kasmani said.

“As soon as those levels were below that level … the risk goes away, it’s reversed.”

Kasmani said follow up tests have been “similarly reassuring” showing chemical levels are back down to baseline levels with no ongoing risk.

He also assured residents that the water was largely unaffected by any residuals from the fire.

Buck told town hall participants Ssonix’s last ministry inspection was in 2020 and that it was due for an inspection on a date after the fire occurred.

“Unfortunately, this incident happened before we could be there,” Buck revealed.

“Not to say that inspection would have changed what occurred that day, but, certainly it could have shed some light on issues that could have possibly prevented it.”

He said the facility was in compliance following the 2020 visit and that the MOE is largely a “complaint-driven” entity that had not gotten many regarding Ssonix.

The ministry has suspended Ssonix’s environmental compliance approval to receive and process waste since the fire.

The company will have to submit a plan assessing the extent of the fire’s impact with the goal of remediating the site to restore it’s approval.

The MOE says once submitted, the ministry will take steps to make sure impacted areas are restored to “pre-fire conditions” before the company can move forward.

“Our office will continue to closely monitor the progress of both the order and ongoing cleanup activities,” Buck explained.

Ryan Konkin, 37, was the only victim in the Jan. 12 industrial blaze.

Konkin sustained significant burns to his body when he opened up a door to the plant and was hit by flames.

He passed away after he was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

A GoFundMe campaign in Konkin’s memory, organized by sister Nicole, exceeded a $10,000 goal by about $7,000 and is earmarked Ryan’s ambition of operating a food truck in a collaboration with his fiancée.

Survived by fiancée Natalia Sepulveda Lastra and 15-year-old son Vincent, Konkin was planning to go into business with the purchase of a specialty coffee truck, according to his sister.

Upper told residents that despite the on-site investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal concluding Feb. 10, actual conclusions on what the cause potentially was are likely to take months.

“Everyone’s back into their offices sifting through all the data, all the information that was collected over those four weeks,” Upper explained.

“So it’s going to take months before they get this whole thing wrapped up.”

Upper explained part of the holdup is other fire investigations in the province, including an unrelated case that will tie up the Ssonix lead investigator who will have court dates to appear at in the weeks ahead.

“So there’s a lot of moving parts there,” said Upper.