Prince George, BC-   Lakeland Mills will resume operations at its planer mill and will restart its district energy system on July 3, 2012. 

“We’re confident that the safety of our employees is not at risk and we feel it’s appropriate to get back to work,” said Greg Stewart, president of Sinclar Group Forest Products, of which Lakeland Mills is a division.

“The monitoring we’ve been doing since last week has found no significant readings of explosive gases, and both WorksafeBC and the Prince George Fire Department have confirmed our findings.” 

Operations at the planer mill and district energy system were suspended on June 22 after a soil vapour sample taken at the northeast corner of the sawmill returned unacceptably high methane levels. It was a precautionary measure taken to ensure the safety of Lakeland employees. Regular air monitoring and other soil vapour samples taken since the mill re-started have not resulted in readings that present any concern.

The Prince George Fire Department visited the scene shortly after the closure and indicated they had no concerns for public safety. 

Further soil vapour samples will be tested in the coming weeks. Lakeland has also implemented an ongoing methane monitoring program for the planer mill and the energy system. 

“Suspending operations in the interests of the safety and well-being of our employees was the right thing to do,” said Stewart. “I’d like to thank our employees and the community for their patience while we ensure the safety and security of the site for everyone.” 

There is about three weeks worth of lumber remaining to be processed at the Lakeland site. About 28 employees will be working at the planer mill, on the yard and in the district energy system. 

Lakeland Mills re-started its planer mill on May 28. The decision to re-start the mill was made in order to process the inventory remaining on the Lakeland Mills site following the tragic explosion and fire at the sawmill on April 23.