Report calls for Rigorous Propane Checks after Toronto Explosion

uploaded by Mary Richard November 7, 2008 at 01:23 pm
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Report calls for Rigorous Propane Checks after Toronto Explosion by Mary Richard

Ontario must do a better job of monitoring the "hazard distance" between volatile fuel depots and residential areas, says a report released today, after a massive propane explosion in Toronto forced 12,000 people from their homes and left two dead.

Canwest News Service Published: Friday, November 07, 2008
Auditors have issued 40 safety and training recommendations to propane facilities in response to a massive explosion at a Toronto site that killed two and damaged hundreds of houses and businesses in August.

The review, released Thursday, was ordered by the Ontario Ministry of Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Aug. 28 to determine what could be done to prevent future accidents.

The authors, engineering professors Micheal Birk and Susana Katz, suggested the Technical Standards and Safety Authority should "(introduce) a more rigorous, statistical approach for propane safety," and "should inspect facilities annually until it has gathered the required data, and has developed . . . a risk-based approach to regulation."

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They also recommended guidelines to improve propane handlers' training and certification and to limit the amount of trucks or trains carrying the flammable gas at a depot.

The auditors also said similar sites should determine hazard distances and make that information available to the nearby public.

Other recommendations include changes to how firefighters respond to such accidents and aa requirement that engineers certify risk management plans at larger gas plants.

The Aug. 10 blast at Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases site in Toronto's north end killed part-time employee, Parminder Singh Saini, 25, and firefighter Bob Leek, a 25-year veteran who responded to the early morning explosion.

Residents in the area launched a $300-million lawsuit against the City of Toronto, citing emotional damages for the 12,000 people within a 1.6-kilometre radius of the epicentre who had to evacuate their homes.