Acid spill cleanup nearly done

5,000 litres entered creek nearby

About 152,000 litres of hydrochloric acid that leaked from a large holding tank in northeast Edmonton is expected to be completely cleaned up by Thursday, and the potential environmental impact will be monitored.

Most of the acid was contained on the Panther Industries site at 2061 32nd Street N.E., but the company says about 5,000 litres entered a nearby creek through a City of Edmonton stormwater sewer drain. The leak into the creek was discovered at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, and was contained with a dam made of earth, the company says.

The leak into the creek was discovered several hours after the initial leak was discovered at about 10:30 a.m. on Sunday by an employee arriving to work. The employee called the fire department, police, the City of Edmonton, Alberta Environment and Panther Industries’ emergency response team.

According to the company, the leak occurred after cold temperatures caused a sealed window on the side of a large holding tank to pop loose.

Panther Industries president Jack Schneider travelled to Edmonton from t he company’s Saskatchewan headquarters to supervise the cleanup, the company said.

Spokesman Godfrey Huybregts said 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the acid that leaked from the tank had been cleaned up by Tuesday morning. The rest is expected to be cleaned up by Thursday. Huybregts said the cleanup has gone smoothly, with “a lot of late hours put in by everybody involved.”

Huybregts said the company will continue to work closely with agencies like Alberta Environment, Environment Canada and the City of Edmonton, and will continue to monitor the impact on plants and water in the area.

“Panther is very interested in making sure we continue to track what’s going on, and do what’s necessary to make sure there are no long-term effects on plants and water,” he said.

The company says about one kilometre of the creek bed may be monitored and tested for up to a year, and that Stantec Engineering has been hired to help oversee the cleanup.

The site is in an industrial area north of Sherwood Park, north of the Yellowhead Highway.

Businesses within two blocks were evacuated after the leak, and no one was injured.

According to the Panther Industries website, the company has served the oil and gas industry in North America and overseas for more than 30 years. Panther Industries was named one of Saskatchewan’s top 100 companies in 2007, with gross sales of $23,600,000.

Hydrochloric acid has many industrial uses, including being used in the production of fertilizer, dyes and chlorides, and in the photographic, textile, and rubber industries.

Panther is very interested in making sure we continue to track what’s going on. GODFREY HUYBREGTS