Media Release - SUNRISE PROPANE INCIDENT INVESTIGATION
SUNRISE PROPANE INCIDENT INVESTIGATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Toronto, ON, August 13, 2008). Early Sunday morning on August 10, 2008, a propane blast at the Sunrise Propane Industrial Gases facility hit Toronto’s north-west end, prompting the evacuation of local residents and an investigation of incident cause under jurisdiction of the Office of the Fire Marshall Ontario (OFM). Deepest sympathies go out to those impacted, as well as families and friends of the victims of this terrible tragedy. The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) remains fully committed to working closely with all its safety partners to ensure effective measures are in place to ensure the safety of the residents of Ontario with respect to the sectors it regulates.
Committed to public safety, and as the organization having responsibility for the licensing of the site, TSSA is assisting the investigation, cooperating with the OFM, Toronto Police Services, the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario.
TSSA conducts fuel safety inspections of facilities of this nature at a minimum on a three year basis; however, for appropriate vigilance, more frequent inspections are undertaken where warranted. The Sunrise Propane site was first inspected in 2005, prior to site operation, with the next regular cyclical audit scheduled for the fall of 2008. TSSA undertook two additional ad hoc inspections since 2005 to increase the level of vigilance: one in November 2006 and another in May 2007. Operational issues were identified requiring resolution and TSSA has been addressing the non-compliance(s) through appropriate enforcement measures.
Copies of inspection reports are accessible through TSSA’s Public Information Services at publicinformationservices@tssa.org or toll-free at 1-877-682-8772. TSSA cautions that no one should speculate based on the results of its previous inspections as to what may or may not have caused the explosion.
In particular, TSSA issued cease and desist orders related to technical violations of the propane code including a hose hanging from a truck and also took appropriate enforcement action related to a truck-to-truck transfer. These orders, issued to Sunrise Propane, required them to stop these non-compliant activities immediately.
“While the national propane code allows truck-to-truck transfer,” says John Marshall, Director of TSSA’s Fuels Safety Program, “the Province of Ontario and TSSA, as its delegated administrative authority, prohibits truck-to-truck transfer in the best interest of Ontarians and enhanced public safety.”
TSSA additionally enforces more stringent requirements for populated areas, regulated as 300 feet from the facility, not found in the national code.
Of the 73 propane sites in Toronto, seven can be deemed comparable to Sunrise. Relevant information related to the locations of these sites and all others in Ontario are accessible through TSSA’s website.
While incidents of this nature are rare, when they do occur TSSA takes them very seriously. TSSA engages in thorough investigation, gathers evidence and makes appropriate risk-informed decisions to continuously achieve enhanced safety outcomes.
Full media release attached below.
