April 13, 2009 by admin.

The Edmonton Journal
Edmonton,Alberta,Canada
April 13, 2009

Bruderheim families voice safety concerns over ‘dangerous’ plan
By Andrea Sands,

…Area homeowners are also worried that train cars carrying sulphur to and from the plant may derail. Debbie Bishop, a lawyer for FOLC, said residents don’t … (Full Story)

________________
Note by folc.ca: The article identified above discusses the concerns of FOLC (Friends of Lamont County) that county residents in the vicinity of a proposed sulphur-forming, -storage and -shipping facility to be built less than two miles east of the Town have, if the Natural Resource Conservation Board (NRCB) gives HAZCO permission to build the sulphur plant and storage facility at the intended location.

The sulphur storage will have a capacity of up to 90,000 tonnes.  That is the carrying capacity of approximately six sulphur unit-trains of a hundred cars each and six times the amount of sulphur that burned in the disastrous sulphur fire that harmed thousands of residents at the town of Macassar, South Africa, in 1995.  Macassar was located at a somewhat greater distance from that sulphur fire than Bruderheim is located in relation to the proposedHAZCO sulphur plant.

The NRCB hearing will be held during an estimated four-day interval at the Lakeview Inn & Suites, 10115 - 88 Ave, Fort Saskatchewan.  The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m., April 14, 2009.

The NRCB hearing is crucial to the future of the people who live in Lamont County.  What is at stake is essentially whether Lamont County — at the very least the areas that have been rezoned Heavy Industrial, and the areas adjacent to them — will within the space of a few years become as devoid of residences as is the Industrial Heartland in Strathcona County.

HAZCO’s sulphur facility poses a threat to residents within a large radius from its location (including the residents of Bruderheim and Lamont).  That is what is at stake at the NRCB hearing beginning on Tuesday.

It is in the best interest of every single resident of our county to attend.  It is especially in the interest of the residents of Bruderheim and Lamont to attend.

A good number of concerns by Lamont-County residents have not yet been addressed satisfactorily.  It is our health, our lives and our wellbeing that is at stake.

Make sure you are there!

 Lakeview Inn & Suites

10115 - 88 Ave, Fort Saskatchewan,

April 14, 2009, 9:00 a.m.

The details of the concerns by FOLC can be looked up at this link.

More information about sulphur fires is accessible at folc.ca.

Posted in Energy Purchases, Fines & Penalties, Hazco, Sulphur-Related Construction Costs, Hydrogen-Sulphide, Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

January 7, 2009 by admin.

Haz Mat News: Hydrogen Sulfide is a new method of suicide
from FIRST RESPONDER TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT
by Bob Blogger

Trics of the Trade: New Hazmat Threat Comes to the US Hydrogen Sulfide is a new method of suicide

TONY TRICARICO; Firehouse.Com Contributor

A popular means of suicide, is there such a thing? Well apparently there is now.

In the first six months of 2008, the press reports that in Japan more than 500 people have killed themselves using hydrogen sulfide created by mixing chemicals commonly available over the counter in supermarkets and drug stores. Japan’s government has long battled to contain the country’s alarmingly high suicide rate. A total of 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, giving the country the ninth highest rate in the world….(Full Story)

_____________
folc.ca: The article is a good summary of the dangers of hydrogen sulphide and of the tools and safety regulations required in a hydrogen-sulphide emergency.

Some statements in the article require comments.

1. In Japan, “A total of 32,155 people killed themselves in 2006, giving the country the ninth highest rate in the world.”Canada ranks in 44th place of 101 countries, while the suicide rates in the northern territories are right up there with Lithuania, Russia and rank even higher than those of Japan.  (See WHO suicide rates as of 2008)
2. The article states “A popular means of suicide, is there such a thing? Well apparently there is now,” and refers with that to the fact that in Japan there were in the first six moths of 2008 a total of 500 suicides by using hydrogen  sulphide. Given a total of about 30,000 suicides a year in Japan, that means that about 3 out of a 100 people use hydrogen sulphide to kill themselves.  That may be a new method, and it is being used more and more frequently in Japan, but that method is a long way from being as popular as more traditional suicide methods.The problem with the method is that it potentially puts far greater numbers of people at risk who are in the vicinity of  those who commit suicide by means of hydrogen sulphide.

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »