Ministry waiting on Imperial tower-collapse explanation

Journal Staff The province has given Imperial Oil until the end of June to explain what caused a 15-story tower collapse at the Sarnia refinery last month.

Journal Staff

The province has given Imperial Oil until the end of June to explain what caused a 15-story tower collapse at the Sarnia refinery last month.

The company says no one was injured and no uncontrolled release of pollutants was reported after the processing tower, which was being prepared for maintenance, collapsed at 8:15 p.m. on April 2.

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has requested information explaining the root cause of the collapse as well as any corrective action the company has identified, said spokesperson Gary Wheeler in an email to The Journal.

“Ministry staff will carefully review the information as soon as we receive it and determine whether any additional actions are required,” Wheeler said.

The Ministry of Labour and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority also investigated the incident, which occurred within the plant on the west side of South Vidal Street.

Two huge ‘crawler’ cranes were brought into the plant to lift and reduce the load from the tower.

Last month, Imperial officials met with representatives from the City, Sarnia Fire & Rescue, the County of Lambton and Aamjiwnaang First Nation to review the response to the incident.

The company has said it plans to “communicate the cause” when the investigation is complete.