Glycol leaking into Thompson River
Chemicals water soluble, biodegradable and should not harm fish, officials claim
Isn't ethylene glycol anti-freeze,the same poison that was killing dogs in High Park in Toronto? If the tanker is submerged and is leaking, won't the whole tanker of that stuff leak out into the river?
Until early Thursday, Canadian Pacific Railway representative Mike LoVecchio maintained that there had been no leak and that a potential glycol leak would have very little impact on the water and surrounding area in any case.
"It's important to remember that glycol is water-soluble and biodegradable," he said.
I think it's important to remember that glycol is poison, pal.
4 comments:
Good for you to call them on it, Mr. A! When I lived in Whitby, there were what seemed to be constant leaks from the Port Hope reactor, and that 'natural' crap was the party line.
Oh for Ralph Nader!!
Why can't they just be honest about a disaster such as this?
You have a very valid concern, but don't panic yet. Mr. LoVecchio is most likely right when he says it wouldn't cause a problem. We use a similar glycol diol called propylene glycol as a lubricant in the pumps we use in the water treatment plant because it's safer than synthetic machine oils or greases. Glycols are diols that have two hydroxyl groups, which means that they react like an alcohol or a weak acid; they dilute or dissolve very easily. In that much water (from the photo I found online, it looks like the Thompson is no mere creek!) even a major leak would probably dilute to safe concentrations almost instantly.
But do watch for reports of trouble anyway, just in case! I'm glad somebody pays attention to these things.
Thanks for the info, A!
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