Gas Release Reported at APEC 1 Site

At approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday, monitoring systems picked up a release of gas while crews were working at the APEC 1 site.

Work stopped and samples of the gas were taken for analysis.

At approximately 5 p.m. the release of gas ended.

Officials are gathering and reviewing data to determine when work can resume.

Workers were in the process of excavating around the well in preparation for driving a larger conductor pipe over the existing well when the release occurred.

Chatham-Kent Fire Chief Chris Case confirmed that the safety plans guiding the operations worked as planned. “Gas was collected and directed to the vent to be flared. At no time was there a risk to our community located beyond the evacuation zone.”

Chief Case noted that a sufficient amount of gas was present for those nearby to detect a smell. He noted that instruments detected 24 parts per billion in the atmosphere, less than one-hundredth of the amount that would represent a safety hazard.