Toxco fire still smouldering
By Castlegar Source
Photo by Randy Lebedow
Castlegar fire crews were among those that responded to a spectacular blaze in Trail Saturday night.
Fire chief Gerry Rempel said Castlegar sent both a crew and firefighting foam, but despite the best efforts of five different fire departments, the remains were still smouldering at 1 p.m. today.
Details on the fire itself remain sketchy, but it has been confirmed that the fire was at Trail’s Toxco Waste Management Facility in Waneta, near the airport, and spread to nearby Alpine Recycling.
Witnesses from as far away as Rossland report hearing explosions that, “sounded like an avalanche control bomb, but louder.”
Early reports indicate that sulphur dioxide gas was emitted during the fire, but Operations Manager Kathy Bruce has stated that the gas poses no danger to the public as it has dispersed into the air.
Environment Canada is on the scene.
According to the company’s web site, the company, which recycles batteries, has a mandate to provide safe recycling. “The facility inventories incoming lithium battery waste. The waste is then stored in earth covered concrete storage bunkers. Residual electrical energy is removed from larger, more reactive batteries. If necessary the batteries then begin Toxco’s patented cryogenic process and are cooled to -325°F. Lithium, although normally explosively reactive at room temperature, is rendered relatively inert at this temperature. The batteries are then safely sheared/shredded and the materials are separated.”
– with files from the Rossland Telegraph
