Plains employee sent to hospital following vapour release

Journal staff A worker at Plains Midstream in Sarnia was sent to hospital, Friday, following a propane vapour release from a rail car, the company says.

Journal staff

A worker at Plains Midstream in Sarnia was sent to hospital, Friday, following a propane vapour release from a rail car, the company says.

In an email to The Journal, a Plains Midstream Canada representative said the incident occurred around 12 noon, when one employee was exposed to the vapour at the time of the release, “and has been assessed and cleared by the hospital.

“The release is controlled and we anticipate any residual propane to be cleaned up later today.”

“We have initiated our emergency response plan, notified the appropriate regulators and agencies and are working with first responders,” the company added. “Our current priorities are to protect the safety of people in the area and minimize any impacts to the environment.” 

The incident prompted the activation of site-specific emergency sirens, leaving many nearby residents looking for more information.

A spokesperson with BASES, which administers the Sarnia-Lambton Alerts/Everbridge system, confirmed at the time that no official public notification had been issued by the company.

A CAER Code 8, which advises of an ‘internal emergency response event,’ was issued through the Aamjiwnaang Notification System.

Plains later issued a public community notification around 4 p.m., Friday.

“Operations have responded to the product release and incident was stabilized at approx.13:40hrs,” the company stated. “We immediately sounded the plant siren and activated our emergency response plan.

“There were no environmental impacts; injured worker cleared to return to regular duties.”

The company says an all-clear for the Code 8 was issued