Workers temporarily displaced from KRT facility on Duhamel Road
A hazmat team with Greater Sudbury Fire Services responded Wednesday to a second incident involving chemicals to occur in less than a week.
The latest took place at the KRT waste management facility on Duhamel Road, next-door to the Gardewine location, off Municipal Road 55.
Deputy chief Jesse Oshell said the fire department was alerted to the chemical reaction fire at 2:30 p.m.
“We were able to understand, once we got here, what the chemical was, and what the proper process and material should be for putting it out,” he said, while still on the scene. “We did that, and we’re just monitoring the location now to ensure there is no further spread or risk to any other products in the building.”
Oshell said KRT evacuated its workers from the facility and the fire department asked Gardewine to follow suit as a precaution.
“At the time of our arrival, there was chemical-reaction smoke that could potentially impact that area, but the employees have since been returned,” he said. “Once our hazardous materials crew arrived, they assessed the situation, and determined the best course of action.”
Two individuals who had been working with the product were assessed by paramedics but “at this time we have no injuries to report, which is good,” said Oshell.
Last Thursday a similar event took place at Quatro Industries on Maley Drive, when nitric acid reacted to a metal, creating a toxic vapour cloud.
In this case the exact combination of materials that caused the reaction has yet to be determined, and will be up to the company to investigate, said Oshell.
“I do know that KRT manages a lot of chemicals, oils and solvents for a lot of the heavy industry here in our community,” he said. “There was smoke coming from a product inside the facility, which was visible but very localized.”
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