ICMM - International Council on Mining & Metals

CASE STUDY

Responding to a distant train derailment

In March 2000, an Ontario Northland Railway (ONR) freight train, travelling from Englehart to North Bay, derailed near Temagami, Ontario. The train was carrying sulphuric acid from Noranda’s Horne Smelter and Falconbridge’s Kidd Creek metallurgical plant. Twenty-five of the derailed tank cars contained sulphuric acid. It was estimated that approximately 700 tonnes of high-strength acid (the equivalent of almost eight full tank cars) was spilt, of which a substantial amount flowed into Martin Creek and Hornet Lake.

The incident happened at about 4.15 pm and Noranda’s Emergency Response hotline was notified within 30 minutes. Emergency Response Teams were dispatched from the Horne Smelter and the Kidd Creek plant, both of which are more than 200 kilometres from the incident site, and they arrived on the scene three hours later. ONR installed a security perimeter around the site to control access and established an emergency command post at the Temagami town hall, some 15 kilometres away. By the next day an extensive spill monitoring programme had been instigated at the site and various locations downstream.

An incident command structure was quickly established, headed by ONR with critical support from the operations. Key personnel reporting to the Incident Command team included relevant technical people and a public relations and communications team. Noranda provided resources for incident command, environmental specialists and communications specialists. The provincial authorities informed local residents to refrain from using water from wells and Hornet Lake until the contamination had been neutralized. Alternative water supplies were brought in by truck.

ONR placed crushed limestone in areas where the spilt product had collected in order to contain and neutralize the sulphuric acid. The creek adjacent to the railway track, approximately 1.5 kilometres downstream, was dammed, and a siphon system was installed to prevent more sulphuric acid from entering Hornet Lake. The remaining product from the derailed cars was transferred to other rail cars over several days. Limestone, soda ash and caustic soda were used to neutralize the sulphuric acid that entered the waterways.

The acid eventually acidified a large portion of the lower levels of Hornet Lake. An acid-neutralizing treatment system was designed that pumped water from the bottom of the lake, treated it by adding a slurry of lime and discharged the treated water back to the bottom of the lake. An estimated 40 days of 24-hours-a-day treatment was required to fully neutralize the lake water. All treatment was completed by the end of July 2000.

Temagami is a town with a population of about 1000 with the main industry being tourism and fishing. The region is very scenic, with high environmental and public sensitivities. The incident occurred 8 kilometres south of Temagami, where the only habitation is two cottages with one resident. The incident only affected a small area, but the public perception of it was much worse.

Emergency systems in place

Responsible Care Programme: As a member of the Canadian Chemical Producers Association, Noranda was certified under its Responsible Care Programme for the safe handling of hazardous chemicals. This is a comprehensive system of principles and codes covering the complete product cycle from research and development through to final disposal. It includes screening of transporters and distributors and establishing Community Advisory Panels for communities most closely affected by operations. Responsible Care also has a mutual aid system for quick response. In the event of an incident, a company has to have a 24-hour emergency centre that is able to respond to an emergency situation within hours. Noranda had established emergency response plans and teams and a business unit Crisis Management Plan to access additional resources quickly in the event of a major emergency. This preparation greatly assisted in the effectiveness of the response.

Corporate Crisis Management Plan: This plan, which was finalized at the end of 2002, contains the procedures for establishing a Noranda Crisis Management Team, a crisis policy and basic definitions. It is closely linked to site emergency plans that are based on ISO 14001. The plans are developed internally and involve some consultation with the board of directors of both companies, major shareholders and the investment community. Simulation training is also carried out internally, every three years, as a desktop exercise. Following the incident, existing management systems were improved to identify more resources for use in the event of a large incident.

Community Advisory Panel: All Noranda plants have a community advisory panel that is established by identifying representative members of the community and local government. Community participants range from teachers to plant neighbours, citizens who are actively engaged in community interests and groups. These panels are lead by the community and review progress and concerns related to the plant/community interface. After the incident, community awareness sessions were conducted along key rail corridors to ease public concern and to train community first responders on what to do in the event of a chemical rail incident.

Ontario Northland Railway: ONR had conducted regular emergency response training, had participated in the region’s emergency drills and had initiated contact with various community emergency responders to discuss the transportation of dangerous goods. ONR had also participated actively in sulphuric acid emergency response training conducted by Noranda.

Additional challenges

• ONR is a relatively small rail carrier without the resources of a large major railroad.
• The incident was in a remote area, out of range of mobile phone network with no local road and only access by rail or helicopter.
• Emergency showers were needed for acid cleanup teams before work could start on-site.
• ONR’s communications staff were not prepared to deal with a large emergency.
• ONR’s original environmental consultant was not experienced in managing large incidents.
• The acidity in Hornet Lake had to be neutralized before the spring thaw set in and melt water extended the area of contamination.

Responses to challenges

• Radio communications with the incident site were established within hours.
• The creek was dammed at the lower end and the acid neutralized with lime to prevent further acidic flow into the lake.
• A temporary road was punched into the area, which took almost a week using heavy equipment.
• Some acid neutralization in the creek was achieved by dropping lime from helicopters while the access road was being built.
• Press conferences were held a week after the incident.

Analysis

Rail maintenance is essential in remote areas; there is a need to work with railroad companies to ensure that this is accomplished.

Dry-run simulations, particularly with technical service providers, are a key element in emergency planning. This means working with transporters before an incident occurs and doing a thorough evaluation of the technical capabilities of contractors.

An appropriate communications strategy and implementation plan should be established immediately.