‘Few inspections being conducted’
Ammonia systems at ice rinks should all be replaced with safer options, expert suggests
Some industry experts are asking questions about the staffing and inspections of arenas using ammonia refrigeration systems, months after a leak killed three men at an ice rink in Fernie. Ammonia is inherently dangerous and should be not used in skating and curling rinks, said Lou Roussinos, who spent decades inspecting refrigeration and boiler systems across B.C.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful refrigerant, but it’s dangerous,” Roussinos said. “It’s highly toxic, it will kill you in less than 30 seconds in high concentrations, and we know that.”
Last October, three men died following a leak of the colourless gas at Fernie Memorial Arena. The victims included City of Fernie employees Wayne Hornquist and Lloyd Smith and refrigeration contractor Jason Podloski of Turner Valley, Alta.
The city previously said in a Facebook post that the arena was closed for “emergency maintenance” the morning of the leak.
Several agencies continue to investigate, including RCMP and WorkSafe B.C.
The case is believed to be the first fatal ammonia leak in Canada, but the gas has seeped out of refrigeration systems before, causing injuries in several cases.
A report from Technical Safety B.C., which oversees the installation and operation of technical systems like refrigeration and boiler systems, shows there were 40 reported “refrigerated release incidents” involving ammonia across the
province between 2007 and 2015. The report says 10 of the incidents included injuries.
An expert in the industry says more inspections and stricter staffing requirements are needed to protect against leaks.
Facilities using dangerous chemicals like ammonia used to be checked annually, said Roussinos, former head inspector with the B.C. Safety Authority, Technical Safety B.C.’s predecessor.
“Now there’s very few inspections being conducted. You can go from place to place in the province and most places will tell you they haven’t seen an inspector in years,” he said.
A spokeswoman for B.C.’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs, which is responsible for recreational facilities, said in an email that annual inspections have not been required
since the Safety Standards Act was enacted in 2003.
Janice Lee, director of safety oversight at Technical Safety B.C., said the agency does inspections when equipment is installed and conducts “periodic assessments” throughout the lifespan of the system.
There’s no national standard for how often ammonia refrigeration plants in ice rinks are inspected.
In B.C., when “imminent safety issues” are found during an inspection, they are dealt with immediately on site, Lee said.
Reports obtained by The Canadian Press under the Freedom of Information Act show the B.C. Safety Authority inspected the Fernie Memorial Arena six times between September 2007 and when the fatal leak occurred on Oct. 17, 2017.
Technical Safety B.C. said in a statement the agency was advised that all of the items noted during the latest inspection in December 2014 had been addressed.
Reports filed between September 2007 and December 2014 noted several issues at the arena, including leaking, corroded and uncertified equipment, and non-compliance with required staffing levels. In the final report, a safety officer made note of potential issues with a compressor, oil fill pumps, an ammonia sensor and staffing on statutory holidays.
Roussinos, the former B.C. inspector, said some municipalities have already moved to replace their ammonia refrigeration systems with what he considers to be safer alternatives, like freon or carbon dioxide.
He’d like to see B.C.’s government require all the remaining ammonia systems to be replaced, too.