Rolls Royce jet fuel spill raises safety and oversight concerns

An environmental organization is blaming lax oversight for a huge jet fuel spill at the Lachine Rolls Royce factory last month.  

 Some 18,000 litres were involved, some of it seeping into the city's sewer system.

The city says the spill did not present any danger to the public, but the David Suzuki Foundation says we were lucky.

The Foundation's Jean-Patrick Toussaint thinks stricter oversight is needed, as these kinds of events are becoming increasingly common.

"More and more, we're seeing companies having the power to self-regulate themselves," he says. "Of course, the ministry is overseeing all of this, but it's not enough, and we're seeing situations like this happening."

The spill is being blamed on a seal break in the factory's distribution network.

City spokesman Jacques Alain Lavallee says the delay between the time of the spill - around 1:30 a.m. - and the time the provincial environment ministry was notified at around 8:30 a.m. was disturbing.

Rolls Royce is reviewing its safety procedures and the city promises it will be following up with future inspections.

Source:   http://www.cjad.com
 
Rolls Royce faces the possibility of sanctions for failing to disclose a massive leak of aviation fuel last month.

The Journal de Montreal says the leak of 18,000 litres of fuel occurred at the company's jet engine plant on Côte-de-Liesse in Lachine at around 1am on May 25th, but was not reported to Environment Quebec officials until 8:30 in the morning.

Quebec law states that oil spills and fuel leaks must be reported immediately.

Many Lachine residents complained of the smell in the city that day, but no notice was ever sent out.

The clean up of the spill resulted in only 2000 litres being recovered from the soil.

The other 16,000 litres was apparently flushed thru the sewer system and was unrecoverable.

The Journal de Montreal says the Environment Department is now considering possible administrative sanctions or legal action against the company.

Story:   http://www.cjad.com