FILE PHOTO - Osoyoos RCMP were notified after a contract employee at the Osyoos landfill suffered a medical emergency following exposure to a pail of discarded chlorine pucks yesterday, July 28, 2020.
(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)
July 29, 2020 - 4:46 PM
The Osoyoos landfill was forced to close and an employee taken to hospital following a hazardous materials spill at the facility yesterday.
Osoyoos RCMP responded to a medical emergency at the landfill yesterday, July 28, around 10:20 in the morning after a landfill contractor’s employee, who was compacting freshly dumped waste, drove over a container of solid chlorine pucks.
The employee suffered a medical emergency after inhaling some of the discharging gas from the pucks, which were believed to be disposed of contrary to hazardous waste regulations.
The employee was able to remove himself from the area, call for help and later taken to hospital.
B.C. Ministry of Environment attended the site as did WorkSafe B.C. Workers at the site were educated in handling unexpected spills and their actions saved the affected employee from further injury, police spokesperson Sgt. Jason Bayda said in a press release issued this afternoon.
An environmental agency packaged the damaged pail and chlorine pucks and the loader that contacted the material was cleaned.
"It is clear this spill was caused by someone improperly disposing of a pail of solid chlorine pucks into the Town’s waste system," Bayda said. "This should be a reminder to all that disposing of hazardous materials into a waste container can cause serious injury or death to those working with the garbage down the line. Hazardous materials need to be disposed through the proper disposal/recycling process."
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