Staff evacuated as WSD suffers chlorine leak
A chlorine leak forced the evacuation of staff at the Water and Sewerage (WSD) and Public Works Departments (PWD) compound in Baughers Bay yesterday.
Fire Chief Zebalon McLean said there were a few canisters of chlorine that were exposed to the elements which developed a small leak. He explained that, as a precaution, the staff of the Water and Sewerage Department and the Public Works Department were both evacuated.
McLean said the spill was not very widespread and caused discomfort to some of the staff who had to be evacuated as well as others who were operating in the vicinity.
“Those persons were evacuated and measures were taken to ensure that it does not reoccur,” the Fire Chief said. “Chlorine, as you know, is one of those substances that you absolutely don’t play with. It’s a gas that is actually odourless and colourless.”
He related that several agencies were dispatched to the scene and managed to diffuse and neutralise the situation. McLean said this entailed removing the offending cylinder and having its contents disposed of safely and effectively.
According to the Fire Chief, measures were employed to ensure that fumes were kept to a minimum before the canisters were completely disposed of. He indicated that there was no element of a wider public risk at the time of the incident.
McLean explained that while some odour has been added so that the gas can be detected, one of the signs that suggests the presence of chlorine gas in an area is when persons begin to collapse.
Mclean warned that others should take heed of the mishap and take necessary precautions to avert similar incidents.
“Whatever canisters and containers you have around your home, you should make sure that they’re safely disposed of. This also includes old machinery and derelict vehicles because they have fumes and substances that change over time because of the heat and deterioration conditions,” McLean said.
He added: “Whether it’s at your home or business, substances that are not going to be used again, don’t just store them and leave it up to somebody else to eventually dispose of them. Dispose of them as quickly as possible.”
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Meanwhile he is busy paving in front of his mother in law’s building.
When will the lax incompetence stop. Bet they were all scrambling like ducks with a extra wobble in their step trying to run to the safety of the duck pond. QUACK, QUACK.
Carelessness at it’s best with that department
Kye you are such a failure. They say you are a good guy but being Mr. good guy is not what’s happening bro. Let mommie in law pay to have in front of her properties pave out of her own monies not the taxpayers monies. The taxpayers monies is not a personal ATM.
I am not an expert but since when was chlorine gas oderless?
They are lucky their incompetence did not send them up in flames before they had a chance to dip out the door to safety.
In this day and age you mean to tell me that WSD does NOT know how to safely store hazardous materials? This is crazy to believe that in 2023 they don’t assess their risks and take mitigation measures to protect life and property!! Mr. Wannabe GQ Minister another failure of you to effectively implement safety measures for your staff under your portfolios.
Proper safe storage of hazardous materials is paramount to any public and private sector business. Is an investigation going to be carried out and adequate measures put in place to prevent a repeat down the line? Doesn’t central Government have a Safety Officer whom assesses these risks?!?!
They will soon learn there is a price to pay behind carelessness. See what their carelessness caused?
You think water and sewerage would create a situation to kill themselves. Idiot
The incompetence begins at the top. WSD does not even have one engineer. Image a water and sewer utility without an engineer.
You are the half idiot as WSD obviously know squat about storing hazardous materials by the evidence. So who’s the f’tard now! You seem to be a disgruntled employee….
Research would show that the situation existed from an Engineer time. Sometimes engineers stick inside a box so it is not all the time they are right. For example Look at that wall barrier at sophie bay/sleepy hill designed by engineers, does it make sense to you? Some really good engineers would not have stamped approval on that at all.
The ministry of communications and works is running the department and public works.
The chemical that created this stir is not stored or managed by water and sewerage. Not every article that says water and sewerage is the employees at water and sewerage fault.