Experts urge ammonia training

VANCOUVER— 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 southeastern British Columbia.

Ammonia is inherently dangerous and shouldn’t be used in rinks, said Lou Roussinos, who spent decades inspecting refrigeration 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 a rink in Fernie. The case is believed to be the first fatal ammonia leak in Canada, but it has seeped out of refrigeration systems before, causing injuries in several cases.

Two experts in the industry say 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.