A leak at Zellstoff Celgar early Thursday morning made for foul-smelling winds, but wasn’t a health concern, according to the company, and was quickly repaired.
Celgar sent out a press release Thursday morning explaining what had happened:
“Zellstoff Celgar experienced a leak on one of our storage tanks at approximately 1 a.m. this morning. The leak was contained, our emergency response team responded immediately and no injuries were sustained during the incident. The proper authorities have been notified and a thorough investigation is underway.”
The release went on to say that there might be some unpleasant odors experienced in the area, but said “they should be of short duration and do not pose a health concern.”
By 5 p.m. the leak had been reparied without further incident. An initial investigation revealed that the leak was the result of a failed flange gasket.
“The monitoring equipment in the tank area detected this failure quickly and our Emergency Response Team responded immediately,” Celgar said in a second press release, sent Thursday night. “The tank was isolated and repairs were completed by 14:00. The tank will remain isolated and out of service while a full inspection is completed.”
By 4 p.m. crews were completing a pre-start-up check list to get the mill safely back up to production rates.