Car wash for vehicles affected by Fredericton chemical spill moving to new location

Cars that drove through a chemical spill in Fredericton had to be hosed down.

A car wash for vehicles affected by a chemical spill on the Vanier Highway in Fredericton is opening in a new location Monday.

The New Brunswick government initially set up the car wash for impacted vehicles on Saturday off Alison Boulevard.

In an update Sunday night, the province said the car wash will move to Vanier Industrial Drive at Beek Court following the reopening of ramps on the Alison Boulevard interchange.

The entrance to the car wash will be accessible via Wilsey Road and the Exit 5 interchange off the Vanier Highway.

The car wash will be open Monday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

“As a precaution, affected vehicles that travelled eastbound or westbound on Vanier Highway or Trans-Canada Highway between Fredericton and Oromocto, or on Vanier Industrial Drive, from the evening of Wednesday, March 4 to Friday, March 6 at 4 p.m. can use the car wash,” a provincial news release reads.

On Saturday, the government said if someone already washed their vehicle at home and there is a yellow or orange substance in their garage or yard, they should contact EFI Global on its 24/7 Emergency Spill Line at 1-866-530-4086. EFI Global will then arrange a visit to their property to investigate.

Chemical spill

New Brunswick’s Environment Department said officials were notified on Thursday of a chemical spill on the Vanier Highway (Route 7/Trans-Canada Highway Route 2) and Wilsey Road area.

Preliminary testing has detected traces of sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide and chromium, which could be harmful, according to the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization (NBEMO). It said the chromium spill was approximately 1,000 litres over about 14 kilometres.

Samples of the substance have been sent to a lab for analysis.

NBEMO remains at a “Level 2 – Partial Activation” Monday.

The province said anyone who travelled in the area during the spill and has been experiencing persistent skin, eye or respiratory irritation should seek medical advice or call Tele-Care 811.

“If you did not come into direct contact with the chemicals and do not have residue on your car, your health risk remains very low,” said the province.

Green Party leader expresses concerns

On Monday, the area’s MLA and leader of the Green Party David Coon expressed his concerns with the lack of response from the Emergency Management Organization (EMO).

“It happened sometime Wednesday evening. Department of Environment says they received a report on Thursday, we don’t know from whom. Then it took until Saturday to mobilize the Emergency Measures Organization, and for the cleanup to begin in the car wash to be established, and the toll-free number to be issued for people who are concerned about contaminants in their driveway or in their yard,” said Coon.

“So, that’s quite a quite a time lag.”

Coon adds the EMO’s current process for spill response is too difficult and needs to be “beefed up.”

“People need to ensure one, that if they see a spill, they know how to report it quickly, and two, that the response is far more rapid than we’ve seen in this case,” he said.

Residents respond

Residents of the area expressed concerns many of them were not made aware of the spill until days later.

“I think it was a bit late letting people know about it,” says Bob McDougall. “In our case we ran into on Friday, never really heard anything about it until Sunday morning and it was just a small thing on the computer.”

Others noted how it still seems to be a mystery as to how the chemicals got there.

“It seems kind of strange that it’s completely unknown as to what’s happened, but at least the city and the province are taking actions to at least do the cleanup, looking after the people, and making sure the environment is protected,” says Bill Wilson, who drove through the spill on Wednesday and Thursday.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Stephanie Tsicos and Avery MacRae

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