EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick — Edmundston’s Twin Rivers pulp and paper mill has issued a public apology for five chlorine dioxide gas leaks over the last five months.
The apology came the weekend of Oct. 15-16, 2016, by way of a full-page ad in a local newspaper, CBC’s Matthew Bingley reported.
The leaks, which started in June, released chlorine dioxide, a chemical used to bleach pulp. The company said there were no health risks, but the leaks spurred some public concern. The mill is located just across the St. John River from Madawaska, Maine.
On Monday, Oct. 17, Twin Rivers spokesman Dave Deger wrote in an email to the Fiddlehead Focus/St. John Valley Times, “Twin Rivers’ control and backup systems at the Edmundston pulp mill experienced a series of operational and electrical interruptions this summer — some from the New Brunswick power system and some as a result of internal factors. These led to brief releases of chlorine dioxide, a chemical used in the pulping process — so called ‘green gases.’ We took the time to find the root cause, order the custom equipment to address it and retain a third party to model the gas releases, to confirm that there was no risk to the community.”
One leak happened in June, with four others in late August and early September.
CBC News reported Twin Rivers put a full-page apology advertisement in Saturday’s Info Week-End, offering “sincere apologies for the anxiety and concerns” the incidents caused the public and pledging better communication in the future.
Edmundston Mayor Cyrille Simard had been meeting with Twin Rivers management since the leaks began and was pleased to see the apology in print, according to the CBC.
In his email, Deger said Twin Rivers officials regret the concern these events caused in the community of Edmundston, and that “we will communicate better with citizens beginning by making a presentation to [Edmundston] City Council and hosting an open house this Wednesday from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Sheraton hotel.”