About 20 litres of sulphuric acid leaked from a faulty valve on a transport truck on Friday, but the amount of the material that escaped was such that there are unlikely to be any environmental impacts, officials told Sudbury.com today.
The sulphuric acid spill was reported in Lively this past Friday, with clean-up completed by the following morning, Public Health Sudbury and Districts said today. PHSD said the leak poses no threat to public health or safety.
On June 5, a tanker truck loaded with sulphuric acid from the Glencore smelter facility in Falconbridge was transporting the material to Domtar’s Espanola operation at around 4:30 p.m.
A faulty pressure valve caused small amounts of the acid — totalling around 20 litres — to drip from the tank, creating intermittent patches of acid across a little more than 30 kilometres of the driver's route.
Roadways affected by the spill include Falconbridge Road, the Garson-Coniston Highway, Highway 17, and the southeast bypass, said Iyo Grenon, a Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations spokesperson.
The Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) told Sudbury.com each of these small spills was contained to the asphalt and likely didn’t flow into catch basins or ditches.
Burgess Hawkins, manager with the health protection section of Public Health Sudbury & District, said it is not likely the public would experience any effects from the spill, unless they came into direct contact with the acid, which would result in a chemical burn nearly immediately.
Animals that may have ingested the toxic liquid would have also displayed symptoms, said Hawkins, but the chance of this happening is unlikely, given the powerfully unpleasant odour of sulphuric acid.
It is also quite unlikely any gardens or nearby crops would have been affected, he said, given the small amount of leakage reported. Residents may find dead foliage along the route, he said.
Several drivers reported driving through spilled acid, and expressed concern for their vehicle’s tires, under-carriage and finish.
Vehicles should also be in the clear for damage, said Jim McEwen, service advisor at Alder Automotive, at least when it comes to any plastic or rubber pieces, such as tires. Paint may be compromised, visible through discoloration and disintegration, he said, but that depends on whether a vehicle has a ceramic coating.
McEwen said there it also has the potential to affect a vehicle's underbody, but he thinks it unlikely unless a considerable amount of the substance was applied and over a prolonged period of time.
"I don't think anybody's going to have a problem with their car because of a little sulphuric acid," McEwen said.
Regardless of the small size of the spill, Jesse Oshell, deputy chief with Greater Sudbury Fire Services (GSFS), said any hazardous material that leaks or spills is concerning for public and environmental safety.
His team was contacted around 10 p.m. by Glencore for assistance, he said and were on-scene less than a half an hour later to secure the area and assist in public safety measures.
The team responsible for the cleanup were contractors hired by Glencore and the trucking company associated with the spill. Cleanup efforts in particular areas varied depending on the amount of leakage, said a representative of MECP.
GSFS does not have the equipment or training to assist in the cleanup of hazardous material, said Oshell, but this is something that will be changing in the near future. City council has recently approved the fire service to build upon its hazardous response program, he said, which will allow the organization to have a more hands-on role in incidents such as this.
"We’re out there to protect the community and ensure that anything we are responding to doesn’t get any bigger, larger, or worse."
Oshell said the team left around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, upon confirmation that those contracted to clean up the area had completed their work. As per correspondence with Sudbury Integrated Nickel Operations, however, minor touch-ups may still be underway.
MECP emergency personnel have since visited the site, and will be assessing the nature and extent of environmental damage caused by the spill to determine the next course of action.
The investigation into how an incident like this occurred, who is responsible, and how it can be avoided in the future by Glencore, is also ongoing.
Anyone who happens to come across the following incidents in the future is asked to contact the Ontario Spills Action Centre at 1-866-8477.
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pollution spilled on land, in the water or in the air;
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industrial or commercial noise pollution;
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waste being dumped into the natural environment; and
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improper disposal of commercial waste
This reporting process helps the provincial government identify and track environmental issues, more information on which can be found here.
