Concern raised re: Dangerous Cargo Transport.

In light of last Thursday's 'dangerous cargo' incident in Wildwood - McLeese Lake resident Tom Schoen expresses a concern regarding the transportation of dangerous cargo near McLeese Lake and Highway 97

I share his concern, given the nearest 'certified' fire department is Wildwood, although there is a 'independent' fire department at Tyee Lake, it is for that local community and even Wildwood Fire Department, I believe, does not have Hazardous Materials or HazMat training and we should be ensuring our local rural fire departments are trained to do HazMat incidents', given mines in Cariboo Regional District Area D (Gibraltar Mines) and Area 'F' (Mt. Polley) and the potential for a mine (New Prosperity) in Area 'K' (Hanceville)

Some of the materials transported on our highways and local roads to these mines are so potentially dangerous, for public safety reasons, the public interest requires that our rural communities are prepared, should a spill occur... both with well-trained rural fire departments and maybe even looking into 'dangerous cargo' bylaws for rural roads adjacent to a mine...

Tom's "Letter to the Editor":

I am writing to you in light of the recent accident on Highway 97 in Wildwood that caused a 24 hour highway closure and the evacuation of over 40 homes.

As a McLeese Lake resident who uses Sheridan Hill in McLeese Lake daily, I have been concerned about the transportation of dangerous goods for a few years now. At the exact time of the accident in Wildwood I was visiting with a group of concerned neighbors to discuss the very issue, only to hear the next morning of the highway closure and the resulting evacuation. Every driver who uses the commonly called “mine hill road” in McLeese Lake knows of the steep grade, the often poor road conditions and has witnessed stalled transportation trucks, forcing traffic to pass on the hill.

I have been made aware of the transportation of dangerous products to Gibraltar Mine and wondered if protocols or regulations are in place. Ammonium nitrate is hazardous to inhale or touch, and can be extremely explosive when in contact with heat or an ignition source. When mixed with diesel fuel you get ANFO which is what took down the Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

In December of 2011 the Canadian Auditor General's office released a report about the transportation of dangerous goods. The report found, among other concerns that:

• Transport Canada lacks a consistent approach to planning and implementing compliance activities. In particular, it has not established a “risk based” approach to monitoring companies involved in transporting dangerous goods.

• There is a lack of follow-up on reported deficiencies. Corrective action is not consistently taken when violations are discovered. Documentation of corrective actions is often missing or incomplete.

• The system for approving and overseeing Emergency Response Assistance Plans (ERAPs) is slow, and many plans are given merely “interim” approvals, but never progress to full approval (some have been designated interim as long as ten years).

• Inspectors lack detailed guidance on how to enforce and monitor compliance.

Some members of the community can not agree that dangerous goods should be traveling on a busy highway without making us aware of the risk and implementing better safety regulations. In Prince George city stakeholders and citizens have been expressing concerns about dangerous goods transportation, which led to a new city bylaw.


I don’t believe accidents are avoidable, but the recent event has shown, we need to be aware and prepared.