Deviot: Downwind from the mill. Will they have to sleep with their windows closed?
Fortunately, Pulp mills do not tend to be accident-prone. But if an accident does occur it can be pretty serious so the topic must be taken seriously. In an accident in Canada when chlorine dioxide escaped, casualties were only avoided when wind blew the gas out to sea.
An effluent escape can be a disaster for the local waterways as this accident in Finland shows. The local waterways were polluted badly when the effluent overflowed from the containment systems:
Gunns Ltd: ' Contingency plans will be in place to guarantee any unexpected outflows are captured, collected and pumped back in to the processing line. The mill will also have a large emergency spill basin located in the effluent treatment area.'
Let's hope that this covers every eventuality. The following link shows how disastrous a chemical spill could be:
25/6/2007: PULP MILL ACCIDENT POLLUTES RIVER
A spill of 'black liquor' from the Liconcel pulp mill in Chile has resulted in the deaths of hundreds
of fish in the Mataquito river.
Comment: Gunns must make sure that chlorine dioxide cannot escape under any circumstances as it can kill and residential dwellings are nearby and it might damage the river ecosystem as well.
IIS: It looks as though Gunns intend to make the pulp mill as accident-proof as possible. It is obviously in their best interest to do so.The Beca AMEC peer review is critical of the proposed Chlorine Dioxide generation plant saying it increases the risks of an accident and it is not accepted modern technology (AMT).
At the end of November 2006, a huge bush fire threatened the site of the proposed mill. It was the second one in a decade so the site is prone to fires. Is it sensible to build a huge chemical factory on such a site?
The SWECO report said that Gunns have not done enough work on their accident plans but this could be fixed by permits. It's not entirely clear if Gunns have to present their plans before construction or just by the time the mill is ready to start production. Gunns have now said they will not be using the proposed Chlorine Dioxide process that is not accepted modern technology.
Verdict: Apart from the risk of bush fires, hopefully the mill will be as accident-proof as possible. Let's hope Murphy's law #1(anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) will not apply here. And don't forget: Murphy was an optimist!
