Business
Shell Scotford Upgrader reports operational upset
Shell Scotford Upgrader reports operational upset.
About this update from Mapath Capital Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nFORT SASKATCHEWAN, AB, Sept. 12 /CNW/ - Shell Canada confirmed that an\n\"all clear\" has been issued to neighbours following an upset today at its\nScotford Upgrader near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. There were no injuries.\n\"We offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience or concern that\nthese events have caused,\" said Peter St. George, Shell Canada's General\nManager, Scotford Complex.\nAt about 10:00 a.m. this morning, a leak on a bypass valve occurred at\nthe Upgrader's residue hydroconversion (RHC) unit, which upgrades bitumen into\nsynthetic crude oil. Shell's emergency response personnel responded\nimmediately, and took measures to cool the unit and prevent any fire.\nEmergency response personnel from Strathcona County also responded. Steam and\nvapourized hydrocarbons were visible over the plant site for approximately\nthree hours. As of 3:30 pm, the leak had been stopped and a safe shutdown of\nthe RHC unit continues.\nAbout 1400 employees and contractors from the Shell Scotford refinery,\nupgrader and chemical plant were evacuated to safe locations within the\nScotford Complex site. Starting in the early afternoon when it was safe to do\nso, non-essential personnel were permitted to go home.\nAs a precaution, neighbours within a five-kilometre radius of Scotford\nwere contacted and those east of Scotford (downwind) were advised to stay\nindoors. Neighbours were given the all-clear via the North East Region\nCommunity Awareness and Emergency Response call out line (NRCAER) at 3:45 pm.\nAir monitoring stations and mobile equipment measured no levels above 0.1\nparts per million (ppm) of sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide or hydrocarbon\nemissions outside of the plant site, although some odours were reported into\nthe afternoon. Some individuals may have experienced eye, nose and/or throat\nirritation. These effects are temporary and expected to subside quickly.\nRegulatory agencies were notified and on site for the duration of the\nincident.\nInvestigation into the cause of the problem is underway. Shell is\ncooperating fully with regulatory agencies to determine the cause of this\nincident and an unrelated upset that occurred late last week.\n\n\n\n","length":2246,"tagName":"div"}]