News
Environment minister to review fuel disaster
July 29, 2013, Vancouver - B.C.'s environment minister says there will be an investigation to see what could have been done to prevent the fuel-spill disaster that forced hundreds to evacuate in the West Kootenay.
July 29, 2013 By The Canadian Press
For now, Mary Polak says it's difficult to draw conclusions about transportation issues from this isolated event, but they are learning a lot from the cleanup.
A tanker carrying 35,000 litres of jet fuel to helicopters fighting a wildfire rolled into Lemon Creek on Friday while driving along a remote logging road.
The noxious fumes forced a temporary widespread evacuation of almost 1,300 people and the implementation of a do-not-use water order that remains in place today.
NDP environment critic Spencer Chandra Herbert says the spill highlights how, even with good safety protocols in place, one error can lead to devastating consequences.
Chandra Herbert says in light of debates over mass increases in the transport of dangerous goods like oil, gas or other materials, the province cannot take safety for granted.
