Fined company endangered BC Salmon Run
In 2017, over 500 kg (1200 lbs) of lethal ammonia was released into the Fraser River watershed by Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage Ltd. The company was fined $775,000 on July 19, 2023 in Vancouver Provincial Court. Originally, when the case came to light, prosecutors sought over $2.3 million in damages.
On November 24, 2017 a garbage disposal company worker arrived at the Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage warehouse premises, and after having breathing difficulties, called authorities.
Ammonia can not only kill fish, it can also harm humans by causing blindness, cataracts, severe skin and eye burns, and glaucoma.
Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Ellen Gordon said, “this was a horrific incident, a very dangerous incident,” according to the Richmond News.
At one time, the Rivershed Society of BC reported, 50 million Sockeye Salmon spawned in the Fraser River, in 2020 but only 288,000 returned to the river. Other salmon species spawning in the river include: Chum, Chinook, Coho, and Pink Salmon. The diet of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale diet contains up to 80% Chinook Salmon.
Sockeye Salmon
According to Business in Vancouver, Judge Gordon said that the company, which processes and stores fish, was trying to save money by not transporting and storing the ammonia safely.
The contaminated chemical originated from the routine maintenance of a trawler named the Viking Enterprise. Then it was transported by unlicensed Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage employees. Dangerous chemical identification was not displayed on the truck.
Then the ammonia was stored in a fish tank and moved around the warehouse property, (near Jacombs and Cambie Road), several times. Finally, an unnamed employee vented the contaminated chemical into the Bath Slough leading to the Fraser River. Hazmat-suited dangerous goods responders found the valve frozen open by the ammonia’s low temperature.
Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage employees pleaded guilty to several charges. Of the $775,000 that Judge Gordon fined Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage, $755,000 is earmarked for the federal Environmental Damages Fund. Other entities that were awarded monies included the City of Richmond Fire Department, which was among the many organizations that responded to the call from the sanitation company employee.
The Fraser River’s salmon spawning ground is almost 1000 km (600 miles) long, starting from the mouth of the river.
The Province of BC & Ammonia leaks
Fernie BC, near Cranbrook and the US border, saw three people die as a result of an ammonia leak in an ice rink in 2017. The chiller system in the rink was known to be faulty. Maintenance staff worked on the chilled heat exchanger system on October 16, 2017. While the system was being monitored the next day, ammonia levels reached past fatal limits, and three people died. Global News reported that the Technical Safety BC concluded “workers responding to the crisis were unprepared for what they were dealing with.”
While the University of British Columbia (UBC) was also fined for polluting the Fraser River watershed with ammonia. Although claiming that there was no proof that fish had died when appealing their $1.15 million fine for polluting a city of Vancouver tributary of the Fraser River in 2014, BC Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. BC Supreme Court Justice Neena Sharma also upheld the further $50,000 fine the university incurred by not reporting the incident for three days.
The leak happened when CIMCO Refrigeration, a UBC contractor, spilled ammonia from the UBC Thunderbird Arena in 2014. CIMCO plead guilty and was fined $800,000.
Sources
'Reckless': Richmond fishing firm fined $755K for ammonia release. (2023, July 19). Richmond News. https://www.richmond-news.com/local-news/reckless-richmond-fishing-firm-fined-755k-for-ammonia-release-7298969
Spawning Salmon of the Fraser - Species Spotlight. (2023). RSBC Rivershed Society of BC. https://rivershed.com/blog/spawning-salmon-of-the-fraser-species-spotlight/
About the Fraser River Sockeye run. (2023). Horsefly River Roundtable.
https://horseflyriver.ca/home/about-the-fraser-river-sockeye-run/
‘Reckless’: B.C. fishing firm fined $755K for ammonia release. (2023, July 19). Business in Vancouver: Glacier Media. https://biv.com/article/2023/07/reckless-bc-fishing-firm-fined-755k-ammonia-release
Arctic Pearl Ice and Cold Storage Ltd. fined $755,000 for federal offences related to transporting and discharging ammonia into fish-bearing water in British Columbia. (2023, August 2). Environment and Climate Change Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2023/08/arctic-pearl-ice-and-cold-storage-ltd-fined-755000-for-federal-offences-related-to-transporting-and-discharging-ammonia-into-fish-bearing-water-in-.html
Firm fined CA$755,000 for illegal ammonia discharge. (2023, August 2). Cooling Post Ltd. https://www.coolingpost.com/world-news/firm-fined-ca755000-for-illegal-ammonia-discharge/
'Potentially lethal': Crown wants $2.95M in fines for Richmond ammonia release. (2023, March 30). Fisherynation.com. https://fisherynation.com/archives/118074
UBC loses appeal over ammonia dump in Vancouver creek that killed fish. (2020, August 5). Global News: Canada Press. https://globalnews.ca/news/7253527/ubs-appeal-vancouver-creek-ammonia/
UBC must pay $1.2M fine after losing appeal over ammonia dump that killed fish in Vancouver creek: B.C. Supreme Court dismisses appeal of conviction under Fisheries Act over release of chemical in 2014. (2020, August 5). CBC/Radio Canada. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/ubc-loses-appeal-ammonia-dump-killed-fish-vancouver-creek-1.5675923
UBC quietly appeals conviction for dumping fish-killing ammonia in Fraser River tributary.(2020, March 5). The Narwhal. https://thenarwhal.ca/ubc-quietly-appeals-conviction-for-dumping-fish-killing-ammonia-in-fraser-river-tributary/
Deadly Fernie ammonia leak caused by decision to operate leaky chiller: report. (2018, July 26). Global News: Corus Entertainment Inc. https://globalnews.ca/news/4352214/report-fernie-arena-ammonia-leak-tragedy/