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PLAN STILL IN DRAFT FORM

Railroad accidents involving hazardous chemicals are on the increase in
North Vancouver, with 13 mishaps since 1980, six of which involved cars
of highly toxic chlorine. And despite assurances by industry of safe han-
dling practices, two-thirds of inspections to Canadian National and CP
Rail railcars carrying dangerous products revealed safety violations and

car defects in the region last year.

This second story in a two-part series investigates whether North Shore
residents are protected from a potential rail disaster.

MISSISSAUGA — with its propane railcar explosions;
punctured chlorine car leak and a quarter of a million peo-
ple evacuated — shocked North Shore residents into ques-
tioning their own acceptance of dangerous commodities

here.

Jeff Jefferd, head of North and
West Vancouver Emergency Pro-
gram, recalled how the three local
councils in 1980 demanded indi-
vidual emergency plans ‘‘sooner
than soon.”’ It was also agreed that

' one overall plan was needed should

a. major disaster affect all three

-municipalities.

But seven years later the North
Shore Disaster Plan is still in its
draft form, and no central agency
exists to coordinate emergency
crews. ‘

The disaster plan deals with both

“industrial and natural disasters.

Sheila Gordon, spokesman for
North Vancouver’s. Community

' Hazards Alert Committee, believes

the North Shore should place more
emphasis on preparing for a chem-
ical spill since chemical -manufac-
turing is the primary industry here.
CHAC formed after
Mississauga’ 's rail disaster to lobby
against the manufacturing and
transporting of hazardous chemi-
cals locally. At its height, CHAC.

had a membership of over 500. .

Today there are about two dozen
people, who Gordon described as
being burnt-out by the issue.

The group no longer calls for the
removal of the area’s one chlorine
manufacturing plant — Canadian
Occidental Petroleum Limited,
near the north end of Second Nar-
rows Bridge. Instead, it believes
councils should direct their
energies toward ensuring danger-
ous goods are transported safely,
and that the North Shore is
prepared for a major chemical
spill.

This view is shared by the Ca-
nadian Transport Commission
Railroad Transport Committee,

P&T shopping prop

By KIM PEMBERTON
News Reporter

who in 1985, said it was ‘‘deeply
concerned that local authorities do
not appear to have accomplished
much in planning for transporta-

_tion of dangerous goods and for

emergencies which might occur in
the event of serious accidents.’
Although $3,000 railcars of
dangerous goods, including 600
chlorine cars, annually travel on

North Shore tracks, to one central
agency exists on the North Shore
or in the province to coordinate
local emergency crews.

“Disaster preparedness is like
trying to sell someone an insurance
policy,’ said chief training officer
Grant Bott, of the West Vancouver
District Fire Department.

“The whole concept of hazard-
ous fhaterials is quite fragmented.
It would appear each municipal
jurisdiction has identified its own
responsibility towards hazardous
material incidents and it really sits

A REVAMPED development plan for North Van-
couver’s Park and Tilford site cleared the initial hurdle
Monday, but faltered when city council refused to agree
to an accelerated rezoning process that would see the

project approved by September.

Outlined in a lengthy pres-
entation Monday, the latest pro-
posal for the 30-acre property in-
cludes a $25-million shopping
centre and a $20-million film
studio.

Architect Clive .Grout told
council the BCE . Development
Corp. shopping centre plan in-
cludes a 70,000-square- foot
Save-On-Foods “outlet, a 30,000-
square-foot six-screen Cineplex
Odeon cinema and 68,000 square
feet of smal! retail units.

By STEPHEN BARRINGTO
News Reporter

The 1I5-acre film facility, pro-
posed by Cannell Studios and to
be called North Shore Studios,
would include six sound stages,
support facilities and offices.

Cannell’s studio completes the
Park and Tilford development
package and gives the project an
industrial user, a point of con-
tention among council members.

Cannell Studios president

3 ~ Wednesday, April 29, 1987 - North Shore News

NEWS photo Tsity Peters

EMERGENCY CREWS struggle to right a car of highly toxic chlorine gas, which derailed in North Vancouver
after a yard switch was vandalized in 1982. Since 1980 accidents involving dangerous chemicals have more than
doubled here, but the North Shore has yet to implement a local disaster plan or coordinate its emergency teams

in the event of a major chemical spill.

there. There’s no comprehensive
pian,”’ he said.

North Vancouver District Fire
Chief Archie Stacey agreed: ‘“‘One
cohesive emergency group is need-
ed now more than ever before’ on
the North Shore.

“*We’re not communities sepa-
rated by a couple of miles, we're
side-by-side, with the railroads
running right through," he said.
“If there is ever a major problem
we’re all going to have to react to
the problem, and it’s obvious in
my mind there must be a singular
plan.”’

Jefferd said he will be ap-
proaching the local councils this
year to ask that each sign a mutual
aid agreement, an added precau-

as goods shipped by

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‘tissue,’ ‘followed . y. death within

tion to ensure everyone will work
together in the event of a major
mishap. And ‘he said’ the draft
form of the Norih Shore Disaster
Plan should be tested this summer
in a paper exercise by emergency
personnel.

But Gordon said she would like
to see a full-scale, mock evacua-
tion, so that residents will know
what to do if a Mississauga were to
happen here,

“*T realize it’s quite an undertak-
ing, but some sunny Saturday
there ought to be a_ practice

Michael Dubelko said the firm
looked at ‘'20 or 30 sites before
we convinced ourselves this
(North Vancouver) is where we
should be.”

But despite urging from Can-
nell fawyer Stu Wells, council
balked at supporting the sugges-
tion that the city look into giving
the new facility tax breaks.

City taxes on the film studio
would come to about $500,000 a
year, a figure ‘‘far beyond con-
templation of either the vendor
or purchaser,’’ Wells said.

With estimated revenue of $2
million, Dubelko said the
$500,000 tax bill is unacceptable.
“We cannot afford to pay 25 per
cent of (revenue) in taxes.”

evacuation, especially for the peo-
ple living in that area (of Canadian
Occidental)."’

She added: ‘‘We have it worse
here than Mississauga. We don’t
have a nice flat topography —
we're fenced in.””  ~

Jefferd doesn’t believe a practice
evacuation involving the entire
community is viable.

“To try and do it full scale
becomes too mind-boggling and
costly. [t's worse than the real
thing because you're using al) the
emergency response people, who
will still have to be on ship. Also
an industry in operation won't
shut down for a test evacuation. It
would cost them a fortune.’”

He agreed with Gordon that the

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evacuation of Mississauga was
easier than if such a disaster hap-
pened locally because ‘there are
fewer exit routes. ;

And: if the derailment were to
happen near Canadian Occidental,
the Second Narrows Bridge would
be closed, he said. The bridge was
closed nine months ago during an
evacuation, lasting half-an-hour,
after a railcar spilc 14,000 gallons
of caustic soda.

Since 1985, CN Railways and
BC Rail — the only local rail car-
riers of dangerous goods — have

Despite Cannell’s $100 million
worth of television productions
last year, all company facilities
are to be financially se!f-suffi-
cient, Dubelko stressed.

The accelerated development
application process proposed by
BCED was labelled as ‘‘pushy’’
by some aldermen who said the

provided fire departments with a
monthly traffic volume count of
such materials,

The municipalities requested this
information in order to plan for
emergency response crews, Chemi-
cal producers and rail shippers of
dangerous goods said their workers
are also trained for handling
emergencies, and will act a5
resource people. (In 1985, the Ca-
nadian Transport Commission,
which regulates rail safety,
demanded shippers and producers
of dangerous goods tc have
emergency crews available to deal
with chemical spills).

Terry Litchfield, manager of
transportation and distribution at
Canadian Occidental, said the
company has had an active team in
place since Mississauga. He added
all workers in contact with haz-
ardous goods are trained under a
program called SALT (Safe and
Legal Transportation).

And to better inform the public,
he said, the company initiated a
program cailed CAER (Communi-
ty Awareness and Emergency
Response). It was under the CAER
program, Canadian Occidental last
year paid for the printing of public
pamphlets detailing. what to do in
the event of a chemical spill.

“I'm not a lover of ‘regulations,
but when you look at the Trans-
portation Act it’s an act to pro-
mote public safety,’? said Lit-
chfield.

“T agree with that philosophy
that the public has the ight to be
protected from accidents.”’

But without: one coordinating
agency to oversee these emergency
crews, Gordon believes a; major
disaster here would create chacs.

“People are going to need a lot
more than one emergency pam-
phlet. Some day we’re going. to
have a Mississauga —‘a propane
car explode’ and there will be some
lives lost. I just don’t know how
many,"’ she said.

sal clears first hurdle

presented to the city’s advisory
planning commission May -J3.

Development officials said they
hope the film studio could be
open in June next year with the
shopping centre scheduled to |
open in October next year.

But the ‘Park and Tilford
development proposal still has to

NV ALD. TAYLOR BLASTS BCED: SEE STORY PAGE 5

move would pressure city staff.

Ald. Elko Kroon, the deciding
vote on the issue, said the new
proposal met with ‘his industrial
use requirement, but stressed
details had to be discussed.

Plans for the revamped Park
and Tilford proposal are to be

go through a host of bylaw
readings and at least one public
hearing before fina! approval.

Staff will report to council
May 4 on the feasibility of Can-
nell’s suggested tax breaks and
the proposed BCED accelerated
development application process.

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