Prince George, B.C.- The clean up continues at the site of two fires in late May which levelled the North Central Plywood Plant and ravaged Interior Warehousing.

 

 

There have been some issues about how to dispose of some of the charred materials. Sean Sharpe, Ministry of Environment Regional Manager Omineca – Peace Region, says   there are some concerns about the chemicals that may be in the pile of MDF board which was stored in the warehouse. “The board was heavily soaked with water that may have washed into it chemicals that were being stored on site. Before the board can be burned, we need to know if there are any residual chemicals that might have soaked into the board.”

 

Sharpe says the consultants handling the disposal of the board are working with companies that have power boilers to see if they can burn the product for them. Canfor is one of the companies on that consultation list. “Certainly no company would want to use materials that could have a negative impact on their own emissions” says Sharpe.

 

The consultants have taken numerous samples of the products and are waiting for the results of the chemical analysis.

The fire May 26^th sent plumes of chemically laced smoke into the air.   The weather conditions at the time were such that the fumes were dispersed quickly before they caused any problems however, the chunks of material that were carried into the air and landed all over the City were suspect. Residents of the City were advised to avoid handling any of the ash.