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Edmontonians living around Hawrelak Park may have been woken up with a bang early Saturday morning.
The University of Alberta, along with Edmonton Police Service and Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, carried out a “planned, controlled and safe chemical disposal,” U of A spokesperson Jennifer Crosby told Postmedia.
Crosby said expired peroxide forming solvents commonly used in biochemical research, diisopropyl ether and 1-4 dioxane, were the subject of the disposal.
“Safe hazardous materials management is a part of being a world-class research university,” said Crosby. “Chemical disposals are a routine activity and, from time to time, require the support and specialized expertise of safety services like those offered by EPS and Edmonton Fire.”
Crosby, sharing a message from the school’s operational team, said the park is safe. Chemicals were contained after being disposed in a parking lot, and the environment wasn’t impacted, according to the school.
Crosby did not directly answer a question as to whether or not the chemicals released were hazardous to human health or the environment, only stating that the park is safe. She said the university’s health, safety and environment team determines what controls are necessary for disposing hazardous materials.
EPS put a statement out about the chemical disposal on Twitter at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning.
“Residents living near the park will likely hear a loud bang sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m., as EPS members safely dispose of the chemicals,” EPS said.
Cheryl Voordenhout, communications adviser for EPS, said the statement was sent out at that time to reduce traffic in the area.
“The statement was sent out at night to strike a balance between letting early morning users of the park know without encouraging curious visitors,” said Voordenhout. “The goal (was) to keep citizens away from the park for their safety and to allow police to do their work.”
Voordenhout said EPS bomb technicians safely detonated the chemicals in the large parking lot area of the park, far from residential neighbourhoods.
Source: EdmontonJournal
