Report says apartment, homes in highest-risk zone around Halifax grain elevator
Century-old facility carries risk of dust explosion, report says
A new report prepared for the city says an apartment building and some homes are too close to the grain elevator in Halifax's south end, and any future development should be limited by buffer zones to keep people safe.
The report said the facility carries an inherent risk of dust explosion, given the high quantities of combustible materials. The facility has been operating since 1924, and handles wood pellets and grain like wheat.
The study examined the worst-case scenario of what would happen if an explosion erupted in the silos on the residential side of the elevator — including a fireball, thermal radiation and projectiles. It said properties located within 100 metres have the potential to experience significant property damage.
The six-storey Grainery Lofts apartment building on South Bland Street, a few homes on nearby Blue Willow Court, and a commercial building on Atlantic Street all fall, at least partially, into the restricted zone within 25 metres from the grain elevator, where the report said nothing should be built.
"It's kind of like alarm bells go off and you're like, 'Oh no, what's going on?' said Michael McCallum, who has lived in the Grainery Lofts apartment building for about nine years.
Some parts of the building are just 10 metres from the elevator, the report said. In the worst-case scenario, a 17-metre-long fireball could erupt from the silo's side and hit the Grainery.
Southwest Properties, which manages the Grainery, shared the report with tenants on Nov. 2, and there was a meeting last week where McCallum said residents could ask questions.
Concerned tenants
McCallum said a few people were shaken up and are calling their insurance companies to check if their tenant policies will be affected. He added if he hadn't already recently decided to move, the report might be a consideration.
The report also flagged multiple high-priority recommendations, including explosion protection on certain pieces of equipment and a formal cleaning program to keep dust down.
Port takes elevator safety 'very seriously'
CBC News contacted Halifax Grain Elevator, but did not receive a response by deadline.
Lane Farguson, Halifax Port Authority spokesperson, said Tuesday they've been working with the company to address the report. The elevator is a Port tenant. Farguson said most of the recommendations have been completed or are in progress, and they also brought in a third-party consultant to help with that work.
"We take our safety very, very seriously," Farguson said.
The report said based on the amount of material being handled, there's just over a one-in-a-million chance of explosion at the grain elevator each year.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) got the report last November, but a spokesperson said it was only shared with councillors in August and posted online after that. The city commissioned it after staff decided more study was needed to look at how development should evolve near the elevator.
A Southwest spokesperson said in an email that they are working with officials from HRM, the grain elevator, the Halifax Port Authority and other experts "to understand what steps we can be considering."
"The safety of our residents, employees, properties, and the community are of paramount importance to Southwest Properties and when we are positioned to share further information on our findings we will do so," said Lindsay Downie.
Previous explosion at grain elevator in 2003
A municipal spokesperson said that the development agreement to build the Grainery Lofts was approved in November 2007 by the former peninsula community council. It did follow municipal planning policy in place at the time, and was supported by staff.
However, it was approved just four years after an explosion and fire at the grain elevator in August 2003. Although more than 400 people were displaced during the evacuation, no one was hurt and the blast was contained within the elevator.
Area Coun. Waye Mason said he remembers that blast because his child's daycare was evacuated.
Mason said he knows a lot of improvements have been made since then, and there's no imminent danger to residents. But looking at the former councillors' Grainery Lofts decision, Mason said different choices should have been made.
"I think at the end of the day, common sense did not prevail," Mason said.
The minutes from that 2007 community council meeting show Halifax planner Brian White said there would be no open balconies on the rear of the apartment building facing the grain elevators. However, that did not happen and balconies are visible on that side of the building.
At the same meeting, Richard Kassner of Kassner Goodspeed Architects told the councillors he designed the building and was working with a civil engineer and the Halifax Port Authority on a "blast wall" for the rear of the building. Kassner said it would be one-storey high to direct a blast skyward, but that also does not appear to have been done.
Zoning recommendations
The report said any new land use within the restricted 25 metres of the elevator should not be allowed, while low-density residential can be allowed in a buffer zone more than 30 to 40 metres from the facility depending on which area of the elevator is closest. High-density residential should be 60 to 70 metres away, and sensitive uses like hospitals or child-care centres 75 to 90 metres away, the report said.
Mason gave notice during regional council Tuesday that he'll soon ask for council to start the public engagement process on land-use changes that are needed in order to follow the report's recommendations.
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