Incident Report Subject: Explosion at Husky Gas Well during Fracking Operations injures 13 Date of Email report: Wed 09/03/2011 Report Detail:
A flash fire at a Husky sweet gas well near Robb mid-day on March 7 has resulted in 13 people being injured. RCMP spokesperson Doris Stapleton said one person was in critical condition. RCMP spoksperson Doris Stapleton said a flash fire, a blaze that quickly ignites and is quickly extinguished, was the cause of the injuries, which occurred while the workers were fracking — that is, extracting the gas by injecting water, sand and chemicals under high pressure into a well, resulting in fractures in the shale. These allow the gas to flow more freely out of the well. Edson Fire Department chief Al Schram said his crews responded to the call but "didn't even get on scene." Schram said by the time the department got there, the fire was out, and the industrial crews had taken over the situation. Yellowhead County Fire Department Chief Cory Chegwyn echoed Schram's comments, saying his trucks were turned around when they arrived, although he and a deputy worked on an investigation all afternoon before turning it over to RCMP and Occupational Health and Safety in the evening. Chegwyn said the industrial crews that put the fire out "did a very good job, considering some were injured." Workers were transported to Edson Hospital and then on to University Hospital. Husky spokesperson Carl Yuill said nine were treated and released the sane day, while four remained in hospital for treatment for burns. Yuill said the fracking is " a pretty routine procedure. All safety precautions are undertaken." OHS spokesperson Barrie Harrison said seven of the 13 injured workers were employed by GasFrac Energy, two were employed by Dalmac Energy and the rest were Husky workers. "The injuries ranged from singed hair to first-degree burns to one worker hav(ing) two fractured ribs," said Harrison, adding STARS and fixed wing aircraft were both brought to the scene to get workers to hospital. Harrison said a stop work order was in effect until at least this past weekend, and three investigators were on site. "What we understand right now is that fracking was going on with liquid propane and it appears this propane ignited." Why that happened wasn't clear but, said Harrison, the most likely reasons were either a procedural error or an equipment malfunction. "We won't be opening the site until we've established the cause," and made sure procedures are in place to prevent a recurrence, he said. Yuill noted the company is grateful that the situation was not worse. "We're just thankful that there were no casualties. The health and safety of our workers is most important." Additional Documentation: Alberta gas well explosion injures 11 workersAn explosion at a natural gas well site west of Edmonton injured 11 people Monday morning, police said. Two of the injured were airlifted to hospital by air ambulance, the RCMP said. One person was listed in serious condition. Most of the injured suffered burns.The blast hit the Husky Energy well near Robb, Alta. at about 11:30 a.m. local time and the fire was extinguished by local firefighters."Contractors were working on the well. It was a fire that produced injuries to workers at the well," Husky spokesperson Graham White told The Canadian Press. "The fire was quickly contained and extinguished. Initial reports are the injuries are non-life threatening." The facility produces what is known as "sweet gas" – natural gas that does not contain deadly hydrogen sulfide. The workers were putting a substance into the well to produce more natural gas before the explosion occurred. The Occupational Health and Safety and the Energy Resources Conservation Board are investigating the incident. The well has been shut down. Video of news report available here: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110307/explosion-alberta-well-110307/ |
