RESPONDER THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTRACTORS’ ALLIANCE CERCA: FALL / WINTER 2023 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 10 Years Later and the Lessons LearnedFall/Winter 2023 | 5 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Publication Mail Agreement Number: 40609661 Return all undeliverable addresses to: 309 Youville Street Winnipeg, MB R2H 2S9 Toll-Free: (866) 999-1299 Toll-Free Fax: (866) 244-2544 sales@matrixgroupinc.net www.matrixgroupinc.net President & CEO Jack Andress Operations Manager Shoshana Weinberg sweinberg@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Publisher Jessica Potter jpotter@matrixgroupinc.net Editor-in-Chief Shannon Savory ssavory@matrixgroupinc.net Senior Editor Alexandra Kozub akozub@matrixgroupinc.net Editors / Social Media Managers Jenna Collignon, Paul Adair, Kaitlin Vitt Finance / Administration Lloyd Weinberg, Nathan Redekop accounting@matrixgroupinc.net Director of Circulation & Distribution Lloyd Weinberg distribution@matrixgroupinc.net Sales Manager – Winnipeg Neil Gottfred Sales Manager – Hamilton Jeff Cash Sales Team Leader Jessica Potter Matrix Group Publishing Inc. Account Executives Colleen Bell, Rob Gibson, Jim Hamilton, Scott Hendren, Touhid Kahn, Frank Kenyeres, Sandra Kirby, Cheryl Klassen, Charlie Langsford, Andrew Lee, Brian MacIntyre, Shaun Minett, Caitlin Nakamura, Vlada Radchenko, Wilma Gray-Rose, Luke Stevens, Julie Welsh Layout & Design Cody Chomiak Advertising Design James Robinson ©2023 Matrix Group Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of the publisher. CERCA’S WORD 07 A Message from the Chair ON THE COVER 08 Lac-Mégantic: 10 Years Later and the Lessons Learned FEATURES 10 It's Not Easy Being Green: The Risks Posed by Lithium Batteries 12 PFAS and You 14 Blown Away by Gryphon Energetics CERCA SERVING YOU 18 Meet CERCA’s Contractor Members 25 Membership Application UPCOMING EVENT 22 Mark Your Calendars: CERCA’s Semi-Annual General Meeting 24 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS TABLE OF FALL / WINTER 2023 08 10 14 22 CONTENTS On the Cover: A deadly 2013 train derailment in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec shook the community to its core. Now 10 years later, we look back to see what – if anything – has changed. Photo courtesy of Jean-Claude Morin. RESPONDER THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTRACTORS’ ALLIANCE CERCA: FALL / WINTER 2023 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 10 Years Later and the Lessons Learned CERCA: THE RESPONDER Published For: Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance c/o David Hill 15 Switzer Crescent Binbrook, ON L0R 1T0 Tel: (416) 458-9096 david.hill@gflenv.com www.cerca-aceiu.caFall/Winter 2023 | 7 I thank you all for the overwhelming sup- port and trust that was given to me. We have accomplished so much in this time, and the milestones continue, such as: · A revamped website offering a more intuitive capacity to reach response organizations. · Prescribed standard operating proce- dures (SOPS) for those starting within our industry. · ‘The Responder’ magazine, which has brought much in the way of outreach to CERCA. · Operating sub-committees that unite us and allow us to align our thoughts. · An opportunity to possibly align with other associations to strengthen our posi- tion going forward and into the future. · Value-added semi-annual conferences bring more engagement to all, including our corporate members and their alliances. · A social media presence is continuing to grow and modernize our outreach program. These are but a few of the initiatives that have come to fruition with this executive. There is still so much more work to be done and continued opportunities CERCA has yet to explore. I would like to extend a sincere appre- ciation to all the Executive who support and serve with no expectation or return for their time. Andy Jeves (Vice Chair), Jeff Hoover (Treasurer), and John Zaidan for his never- ending support of CERCA as the lifelong Secretary, as well as all the Responsible Dis- tribution Canada (RDC) support folks who continue to share our message. And a special shout out to Jessica Cain, who offers so much behind the scenes to support our team. I look forward to spending some time with each and every one of you that will attend the fall conference in beautiful Niagara on the Lake. If I don’t get to you, please pull me aside and share a few moments. Thanks to all within this industry for allowing me to enjoy this amazing oppor- tunity and I sincerely hope you all feel I have brought value to my role as Chair. e are today see- ing so many things change for Canadian emergency response provid- ers across Canada. There has been a massive shift to envi- ronmental protection relative to wildland fires and the protection of rail assets, homes, and communities and, as trained respond- ers, we seem to be diversifying monthly just to stay in tune with the shifts and expecta- tions of response needs across our respec- tive service areas. As always, I have never been so proud of our member organizations and how we mould to the needs of our client base when dealing with new risks, expectations, and training needs. Whether it is new regula- tions, safety protocols, or equipment, we must constantly be educating and exposing ourselves to a myriad of things to stay in the forefront of response possibilities and it seems it is only expanding on the clients’ specialized needs and wants. I am excited to see greater chemical, bio- logical, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) alignment with Transport Canada and the RCMP beginning to take shape and, with the anticipation of the fall exercise in British Columbia, we are starting to be rec- ognized for the broad range of services and capacities each of our members should be respected for. Please continue to expand and prepare for a new world with ever-changing expectations and demands. From illicit drug labs to industrial fires, each of us brings strategic value to our cli- ent base and the municipalities we thrive in and serve. With continued competitive respect and a true alignment, we are the solution as we forge ahead into new and challenging times. It has been a very distinct pleasure to have been the Chair of the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alli- ance (CERCA) for the past two terms and, with the election of Chair at this meeting, CERCA'S WORD MEET THE CERCA TEAM CHAIR David Hill GFL Environmental Inc. Tel: (416) 458-9096 david.hill@gflenv.com VICE-CHAIR Andy Jeves NUCOR Environmental Solutions Ltd. Tel: (604) 910-6796 andyj@nucorenv.ca COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR David Hill GFL Environmental Inc. Tel: (416) 458-9096 david.hill@gflenv.com TREASURER Jeff Hoover Drain-All Tel: (613) 739-1070, ext. 297 jeff.hoover@drainall.com SECRETARY John Zaidan Cameco Tel: (306) 956-8060 john_zaidan@cameco.com David Hill Chair, CERCA8 | The official publication of the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance ON THE COVER n the early morning of July 6, 2013, the brakes of an unat- tended Montreal, Main and Atlantic Railway (MMA) freight train hauling 72 tank- er cars of Bakken oil failed, causing the train to roll from where it was parked for the night in Nantes, Quebec, to Lac-Mégantic, a town of roughly 6,000, more than 11 kilometres away. By the time the train reached the heart of Lac-Mégantic, the train was speeding down the tracks at more than 100 kilometres an hour. It was here that the train went off the tracks and explod- ed, creating a one-kilometre blast radius and fire that resulted in the deaths of 47 people, spilled more than six million litres of crude oil into the environment, To mark the anniversary of the disaster, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued the following statement, “Since the disaster, we have prioritized strengthening rail safety across the country, including by introducing stron- ger measures and requirements to pro- tect communities living along railway and destroyed most of the downtown – all but three of the original buildings were either destroyed outright or had to be demolished due to contamination. All told, this was the fourth deadli- est rail disaster in Canada (the deadliest not involving a passenger train) and the worst in more than 150 years. Lac-Mégantic: 10 Years Later and the Lessons Learned By Paul Adair, Staff Writer On July 6, 2013, a train carrying Bakken crude derailed in Lac-Mégantic and exploded, leaving a scar in the community that is still felt a decade later. Photo courtesy of Jean-Claude Morin. The post accident investigations show inherent weaknesses of the DOT-111A tank cars, and their susceptibility to being punctured in a derailment. Photo courtesy of Jean- Claude Morin.Fall/Winter 2023 | 9 held responsible for the disaster and, at the end of this story, no one was ever charged,” says Morin. “Maybe we are securing the tank cars better today and there are more regulations, but when I hear the industry say that ‘safety is the number one priority,’ I still say ‘bullshit.’ So long as profit and the bottom line is what motivates them, nothing will fun- damentally change and an incident like this can potentially occur again.” While Morin believes that Lac-Mégan- tic was a confluence of many different factors all coming together towards cata- strophic result, he knows that a similar disaster could happen to another town or city if the rail industry did not learn their lessons from 2013 and improve. This is an opinion that he continues to share in 2023. “A lot had to go wrong for Lac-Mégan- tic to happen, but industry needed to be lines. From hiring more Railway Safety and Transportation of Dangerous Goods inspectors, to reducing train speeds, to increasing the rate of inspections, we are making sure Canadians travelling by train or living near a railway are safe.” But for Jean-Claude Morin, actions speak louder than words. Now retired, Morin spent approxi- mately 50 days cleaning up the hazardous materials that burned for more than a day in the centre of Lac-Mégantic. During that time, he stayed in the community and had the opportunity to hear personal stories from those who lived there. “One of the people I was staying with during the cleanup showed me a photo of a friend who sent her the picture from a music café at 10:30 pm the night of the incident; at 1:30 am, that friend was no more,” says Morin. “Everybody in Lac-Mégantic has a story like this. That night left scars that remain to this day. It was like a warzone, and even I sometimes find it difficult to talk about what I saw and experienced.” The problem remains In 2018, the federal government announced the 12.5-kilometre Lac- Mégantic Bypass project, which intends to reroute the train tracks around the town to avoid a repeat of the 2013 disas- ter. Five years later, the project has stalled over environmental concerns, rising costs, and the federal government still negotiating expropriation with the surrounding landowners. All the while, Lac-Mégantic continues to watch trains travel past the very spot of the explosion 10 years ago, opening old wounds with every passing car. “I was in Lac-Mégantic on July 6 of this year to mark the anniversary of the disaster, and I can tell you that the trains are still quickly rolling through Lac- Mégantic to this day, and I know that if another accident occurred at the same place, even with these upgraded, sturdi- er tank cars, the end result would be the same as it was 10 years ago,” says Morin. In 2015, Morin was in Winnipeg to present at the Disaster Management Conference about his experiences at Lac- Mégantic, where he was asked if this was an incident that could happen else- where, such as in a city like Winnipeg – a community where more than 400 rail cars carrying hazardous materials roll through every day.Next >