Fear of chemical spill at B.C. pulp mill prompts intervention in dispute

Concerns about a possible chemical spill at a northern B.C. pulp mill have prompted the provincial government to intervene in a labour dispute, CBC News has learned.

Workers at the mothballed Mackenzie mill owned by Worthington Properties were preparing to walk off the job because they haven't been paid for more than a month.

Expressing concerns over the potential environmental risks of an idled pulp mill, the B.C. Environment Ministry issued a spill-prevention order under which some of the workers will be paid to watch over the mill.

Fifty people, including management, have been working at the mill merely to keep the plant warm, so that two large drums and some pipes containing chlorine dioxide don't freeze up.

Freezing would put them at risk of bursting and releasing the chemical when they thaw.

Workers not paid

Carl Bernasky president of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union local 1092, said the 37 union members decided to walk off the job after not getting paid for a month.

"Guys have mortgage payments and children, and everyone has their bills, so you can't expect people to work for nothing," he said.

Worthington Properties bought the mill in September after it went bankrupt, and has been promising to get it up and running ever since.

But the pulp operations haven't started again — and nor have paycheques.

"We informed them that if they don't make payroll we would do an orderly shutdown of the power boiler," Bernasky said.

Environment Minister Barry Penner said that's when the provincial government waded into the dispute.

"As minister of environment, I'm not prepared to tolerate unnecessary risk to the environment and particularly to human health," said Penner.

The province said it will pay the employees and forward the bill to Worthington.

Contacted by CBC News, Worthington Properties confirmed it has not paid its employees.

The company said the province had sent letters reminding the firm of its responsibility to keep workers at the mill, but it wasn't ordered to pay them.

Corrections and ClarificationsThe drums contain chlorine dioxide, not caustic soda as was originally reported. Posted: Jan. 25, 2009 | 6:50 p.m. ETWith files from the Canadian Press