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May, 2006: 2 mine
workers and 2 paramedics are dead due to an unknown colourless
gas at Teck Cominco's old Sullivan mine.
The Sullivan
mine was closed on December 21, 2001 and has since been in the
decommissioning process to restore the site when the incident occurred.
The site of the
incident is located adjacent to a waste rock pile. Water
seeping through the waste rock pile flows into a drainage
collection system at the base of the pile and into a sampling
station located in a small shed. The water flows through a
pipe and into a concrete basin in the building, where water
quality and flow rates are measured. The water then flows
through a pipe to the treatment plant. Water at this station
has been routinely sampled on a monthly basis for several
years during operation and throughout the reclamation
process. The
Chief Mines Inspector has confirmed that the interior of the
sampling station was oxygen deprived. The cause is not yet
known. The hazard area is localized and it has been
determined that there is no risk to the adjacent community.
Doug
Erickson, an environmental consultant was conducting routine
monthly monitoring at the water sampling station at the mine,
work that he had performed for over 10 years. Teck Cominco was
contacted by Mr. Erickson’s spouse and notified that he had
not returned. Teck Cominco immediately began a search for the
consultant. Shortly thereafter, Teck Cominco employee Bob
Newcombe found Mr. Erickson, called 911 and, in an apparent
attempt to assist him, was himself overcome. Paramedics Kim
Weitzel and Shawn Currier attended the scene and each in turn
attempted to rescue the previous victims and succumbed in the
process.
Teck Cominco is trying to determine what substance would have
caused the deaths. At this point, the cause is still unknown.
About Teck Cominco
Teck Cominco
is a diversified mining company, headquartered in Vancouver,
Canada. The company is a world leader in the production of
zinc and metallurgical coal and is also a significant producer
of copper, gold and specialty metals. Further information can
be found at
www.teckcominco.com.
Source:
www.teckcominco.com
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