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Official documents suggest that the sulphuric acid spills that plagued a highway along Trail, British Columbia have been a problem for far longer than previously thought.
The acid spills first made headlines last year, when the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) reported that there were thousands of auto claims filed related to two separate spill incidents in April and May that year.
As of February this year, the number of claims related to the acid spill had risen to more than 4,450.
Through documents CBC News obtained through freedom of information requests, it was revealed that there had been an even earlier spill incident in 2016.
According to the documents, the spill occurred on May 25, 2016. An estimated 75 litres leaked from a tractor-trailer transporting the substance.
“The spill was discovered via highway surveillance cameras. The new [transport] trailers are only weeks old and the spill was caused by a faulty design on the dome lid gasket,” an Emergency Management BC dangerous goods incident report written a few days after the spill read.
CBC News reported that while the spill was documented, it was not publicly disclosed, nor was there an independent investigation launched. The province also did not levy any fines on the zinc and lead smelting operations liable for the spill.
The ICBC says that, at present, around 700 vehicles were written off due to the 2018 acid spills – which could turn out to be the largest single payout in the corporation’s history.
One local car dealer had over 40 vehicles ruined by the acid spills. Sulphuric acid can eat away at brake lines and other components, and can make vehicles unsafe to drive months or years later.
Car dealers based in Trail are suing the parties involved to recoup losses.
