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6,000 lbs. of freon leaks into Ottawa River

You can read the story - Here

QuoteOTTAWA -- The past week hasn't been a good one for the Ottawa River, the city's main source of drinking water.

Late last night councillors were notified of yet another spill into the river -- this time 6,000 lbs. of Freon-22, commonly used in air conditioning units -- that went unnoticed for 24 hours before the city was notified.

The environment ministry's spills action centre contacted the city's drinking water services at about 2 p.m. yesterday informing officials of the chemical entering the water from the federal government campus located at Tunney's Pasture.

"An estimated 6,000 lbs. of Freon-22 was released beginning (Monday) noon until (yesterday) at approximately noon when it was discovered and shut down," says a memo to councillors from Dixon Weir, director of Ottawa's water and wastewater services department.

The city said residents shouldn't worry about the quality of drinking water.

NO THREAT

"Based upon the characteristics and volume of the material released in combination with the current flow and temperature of the Ottawa River, the release of this material does not pose a health risk to drinking water produced at the Lemieux Island Water Purification Plant," the memo says.

Not many details have come to light, but the public health department and ministry are working together to determine the impact of the spill.

Last week, the city reported two spills into the river: A 40,500-litre sewage spill caused by rain and melting snow, and another Feb. 27 when the city reported a small amount of petroleum hydrocarbons was released into the waterway.

Two weeks ago council was notified 96,100 litres of wastewater containing almost three times the allowable amount of suspended solids was discharged into the river. Again the city said there was no impact on the quality of drinking water.

Last fall the province fined the city $560,000 for its role in an August 2006 discharge that resulted in 1 billion litres of sewage spilling unnoticed for two weeks into the river.

Council learned of the spill one year later and fired three employees and suspended another for 20 days.

One of the employees terminated has been reinstated and will be back on the job Monday.

nice, anybody know who will be the lucky recipient of the award that goes with this???

You can read another news story - Here

QuoteThe City of Ottawa says the release of more than 2,700 kilograms of Freon-22 into the Ottawa River does not pose a risk to the drinking water because it quickly evaporates into the air, but Freon-22 released into the air carries other risks to the environment and to health, experts said Wednesday.

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The chemical came from the federal government complex at Tunney's Pasture, where a heating-and-cooling plant is connected to the river. On Monday, a condenser inside the plant leaked, and for about 24 hours, Freon-22 spilled into the river. Toxicologists said most of that would have evaporated into the air.


Freon-22 is a coolant, the kind used in refrigerators or air conditioners.


"Freon's a potent greenhouse gas. So it leads to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that would be about the equivalent of a thousand families driving their cars for a full year," said Dale Marshall, a climate-change analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation.


"There are also some other impacts in terms of the ozone layer and potentially human health impacts," Marshall said.


Public health officials said the leak poses no threat to the city's drinking water supply. But anyone in the immediate area at the time of the spill could be at risk.


"From a human health standpoint, the most likely risks would be through inhalation. If there were people in the vicinity that might have inhaled a large amount of this Freon, then they might want to consult a doctor," said Jules Blais, an environmental toxicology expert at the University of Ottawa.


However, officials with Public Works Canada would not say exactly where the chemical was released.


Without knowing that, it's impossible to know how much would have evaporated into the air, or who might have been nearby.


"Obviously, there needs to be some sort of accountability around this," Marshall said.


The exact amount of Freon released and the cause of the leak are still being investigated. Repairs are being made to the plant where the Freon leaked.

I wonder if the Provincial government will fine the Federal government?   

It really bothers me that the sewage spill in 2006 resulted in $560,000 in fines to our city.  I just can't understand how the taxpayer must pay the government to manage Wastewater Services, then we must pay fines to the government when the government screws up.  This means the taxpayer gets screwed...twice.

if you go to the MOL website you will notice 90% of the fines issued by the MOL are all to some sort of government body, most of them cities.

It would be nice to just once to go after the idiots that design the systems most likely there is some design flaw.

Quote from: Admin on March 06, 2009, 10:44:28 AM
You can read another news story - Here

QuoteThe City of Ottawa says the release of more than 2,700 kilograms of Freon-22 into the Ottawa River does not pose a risk to the drinking water because it quickly evaporates into the air, but Freon-22 released into the air carries other risks to the environment and to health, experts said Wednesday.

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The chemical came from the federal government complex at Tunney's Pasture, where a heating-and-cooling plant is connected to the river. On Monday, a condenser inside the plant leaked, and for about 24 hours, Freon-22 spilled into the river. Toxicologists said most of that would have evaporated into the air.


Freon-22 is a coolant, the kind used in refrigerators or air conditioners.


"Freon's a potent greenhouse gas. So it leads to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that would be about the equivalent of a thousand families driving their cars for a full year," said Dale Marshall, a climate-change analyst with the David Suzuki Foundation.


"There are also some other impacts in terms of the ozone layer and potentially human health impacts," Marshall said.


Public health officials said the leak poses no threat to the city's drinking water supply. But anyone in the immediate area at the time of the spill could be at risk.


"From a human health standpoint, the most likely risks would be through inhalation. If there were people in the vicinity that might have inhaled a large amount of this Freon, then they might want to consult a doctor," said Jules Blais, an environmental toxicology expert at the University of Ottawa.


However, officials with Public Works Canada would not say exactly where the chemical was released.


Without knowing that, it's impossible to know how much would have evaporated into the air, or who might have been nearby.


"Obviously, there needs to be some sort of accountability around this," Marshall said.


The exact amount of Freon released and the cause of the leak are still being investigated. Repairs are being made to the plant where the Freon leaked.

I wonder if the Provincial government will fine the Federal government?   

It really bothers me that the sewage spill in 2006 resulted in $560,000 in fines to our city.  I just can't understand how the taxpayer must pay the government to manage Wastewater Services, then we must pay fines to the government when the government screws up.  This means the taxpayer gets screwed...twice.

it is a standard when the government is to busy doing what it should not be doing and not doing what it should be doing. Protecting the People