They are damn lucky the place did not blow up!!!

Denaljo has it right, the boiler should have been demolished by this incident, along with many of those in the department. Smelt water reactions are extremely violent, hence the emergency procedures to drain the water from the boiler in the event of a leak.

Whoa...they got very lucky!

This was assuming the leak was above the smelt bed, a small leak isn't catastrophic but could very well lead to a larger leak that would more than likely have dire consequences. Should the leak have been away from the furnace proper, the danger would be less but repair and shutdown would still have to take place. It is fortunate that the safety systems and/or employees picked up on this leak.

"There has been speculation the leak may be linked to the use of untreated water which allowed a build up of calcium and magnesium in the boiler. That has not been confirmed."

The statement above, although not confirmed, but the fact that it is even suggested is a major issue. For one, this is never acceptable, once treated water is not available, the boiler must be taken offline until treated water is restored. A tube leak wouldn't have occurred with a very short duration of raw water introduction. Seems as if there were other significant factors with the water treatment that were not immediately dealt with properly and professionally. Very scary!

Nice ... probally an effort to save money ...the Mill Mgr says "Dont use so much sulfite and Nitrate it costs too much"

you can bet the BCSA will be all over this Foul-up and heads are gonna roll ... if the lack of treatment turns out to be true .... expect the Cheif Engineer to be out of a job at best ... and probally lose his steam ticket

FYI

From CBC News:

Extreme levels of a toxic chemical were found in air samples from a Prince George, B.C., neighbourhood more than 18 months ago, but the community still has not been told of the danger, CBC News has learned.

Tests performed in the Millar Addition neighbourhood showed formaldehyde levels more than 18 times the acceptable level.

The Environment Ministry gathered the air samples in Prince George in July and August 2008 after years of complaints from residents about bad smells.

'I don't think there's a reason to panic'— B.C. Environment Ministry official Maureen Bilawchuk
"The [readings] … were unusual enough that they came back as a red flag," said Maureen Bilawchuk, head of the Environmental Management Section.

The B.C. government and local industry were informed of the results, but the community wasn't for fear of causing panic over results that might not be accurate, according to Bilawchuk.

"I don't think there's a reason to panic over these five very discrete samples," she said. "I don't want to say we're ignoring the situation. We want to follow up and find out what's going on."

It was important for residents to put the issue in context and realize that everything from traffic to indoor furniture can emit formaldehyde, Bilawchuk said.

Identified as carcinogen
According to Health Canada, formaldehyde in high concentrations is a carcinogen and contributes to asthma and allergies, especially in children. In lower concentrations, it can irritate and burn the eyes, nose, and throat.

Although B.C. Environment Ministry officials believe the 2008 test results were so high they might have been inaccurate, no new tests have been ordered.

One of the Prince George tests was taken in Fort George Park, a popular playground and water park next to a children's science museum and daycare. The samples showed 1,200 micrograms of formaldehyde per cubic metre in a one-hour period.

Another set of samples were taken a few blocks away at Patricia Boulevard and Taylor Drive, a residential street in middle-class Millar Addition, which is also near the Fraser River and the city's downtown. That test indicated 950 micrograms per cubic metre, also in a one-hour period.

B.C.'s acceptable level is 65 micrograms per cubic metre.

Re-testing in Prince George would cost between $6,000 and $12,000, but the government has not committed funding to the followup, Bilawchuk said.

Local activists have pointed to local pulp mills and an oil refinery as possible sources of the pollution.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/03/bc-prince-george-formaldehyde-millar-addition.html#ixzz0hFMIdEj3

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/03/bc-prince-george-formaldehyde-millar-addition.html?ref=rss

Thank you fn2play for posting this information! I was going to do it myself as you can see.

WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING! This is truly alarming for our children and our futures. They know the truth yet they will do nothing because of jobs and money. WAKE UP!

What does that have to do with the recovery boiler and the pulp mill?

All this kerfuffle on BCTV news? Gadzooks? Now who's gonna want to move to our "gritty little mill town" now? No wonder our population is dwindling. C'mon Dan. Don't forget to invite the BCTV folks up here once downtown revitalization has taken hold and shown improvement. It won't take that long. As an aside, the film footage shown of PG was less than flattering. Up with those flowerpots. The sooner the better.

"What does that have to do with the recovery boiler and the pulp mill?"

Do the research if you don't understand the basic principles!

I have done the research and i still don't see your point as to what this has to do with a tube leak on the recovery boiler.

Does this leak have anything to do with the retrofit of the PG power boiler for the STG green power project three years ago?
metalman.

NOPE! nothing at all!

there are very few reasons for a tube leak ...
Water PH is too low (a lack of treatment problem) over a lenthy period of time
Too much Dissolved gasses in the water(also a treatment problem) ...over a lenthy period of time

Metal Fatiuge ...IMHO a result of yearly Hydrostatic tests @ 1.5 max allowable working pressure... I seem to racall that boiler is rated at 600 psi so a hydro test is 900 psi held for 10 minutes (that said I know a few mills in the area have agreements with the Boiler Inspectors not to bring the Hydro test that high... I am not certain about PG pulp tho ..)