The government of New Brunswick took more than 24 hours to inform the public about a chemical spill spanning 14 kilometers of highway in Fredericton, which contained a cancer-causing compound, as per documents acquired by CBC News. The records, obtained through a right to information request, indicate that Department of Environment officials were aware of the presence of hexavalent chromium in the spill on and around the Vanier Highway by approximately 1 p.m. on March 6. However, it was not until about 4 p.m. the following day that the province publicly disclosed the high levels of the carcinogenic compound in the bright yellow substance.
The government stated on its Facebook page on March 7 that brief exposure to hexavalent chromium does not elevate the risk of cancer. The internal documents, comprising emails and reports exchanged among provincial government personnel, offer insights into the handling of the chemical spill that led to road closures and health concerns for individuals passing through the affected areas before cleanup commenced.
Around 900 liters of the bright yellow substance, leaking from a damaged plastic tote carried on a truck, colored sections of Vanier Industrial Drive, the Vanier Highway, and the Trans-Canada Highway, according to the documents. The responsible party for the spill, XL Plating and Machining, has been identified by the province, although attempts by CBC News to reach the company for comments have been unsuccessful.
The Department of Environment was first alerted to the spill by a City of Fredericton employee on the morning of March 5, and samples were gathered for testing later that day. Results from the lab confirmed the presence of hexavalent chromium in the spill, but this detail was not initially communicated to the media by the department.
The spill, traced back to XL Plating and Machining, involved a waste product from chrome stripping, as revealed through email exchanges between provincial authorities and WorkSafeNB. The documents also suggest that the company’s lack of cooperation delayed the disclosure of the spill’s composition to the public.
Ongoing testing for potential contamination continues, with provincial staff finding elevated levels of hexavalent chromium in surface water samples near the spill site. The Department of Environment has indicated that drinking water sources have not been affected by the spill, although monitoring and testing will persist, including the drilling of groundwater monitoring wells in the impacted areas along Vanier Highway.
The incident underscores the importance of timely and transparent communication in such emergencies, with the government recognizing the need to balance accuracy with swift information dissemination to the public.