'No health threat': Safety-Kleen Canada says black smoke from refinery isn’t a concern

Safety-Kleen Canada says a black plume of smoke seen coming from its Breslau refinery Monday afternoon was part of a routine process and poses no health threat.

The thick clouds of black smoke seen billowing from the used oil refinery on Woolwich Street South in Breslau prompted residents to take to social media to share photos and queries, questioning the origin and impact of the smoke.

“The black smoke represents no health threat to the local community or environment,” Safety-Kleen Canada said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “It happens on occasion – during our start-up process or when we are fine-tuning the combustion heater – but is typically short in duration. Yesterday, the black smoke lasted for just a few minutes until we got the proper balance of air and fuels.”

The sight prompted residents to share photos and queries on social media, questioning the origin and impact of the smoke.

The Woolwich Fire Department was at the scene Monday night and Fire Chief Dennis Aldous said the smoke was from a prolonged power outage.

"Upon arrival, we were informed that the facility experienced a prolonged power outage and was in the process of restarting when the 911 call came in. The smoke was determined to be from the restarting process," Aldous said

The Ministry of the Environment said Safety-Kleen notified the ministry’s Spills Action Centre of an emission of black smoke from a stack at their facility.

"Within one hour of the black smoke being emitted, the Spills Action Centre received three reports of the smoke and odour from residents in the area. A Provincial Officer from the Guelph District Office responded to the area and observed faint black smoke from a stack but did not detect any odours," the ministry said in an email Tuesday afternoon.

Adding: "Safety-Kleen informed the Provincial Officer that the black smoke was caused by a process upset that introduced fuel oil into a furnace. The furnace was shut down as soon as the process upset was detected."