Local plant found for chemical spill

A local manufacturer of kitty litter has been fined by the province for failing to report a 200-litre chemical spill on its Morton Avenue property in 2019.

Normerica Inc. — now called Minerals Technologies — was convicted in April of violating the Environmental Protection Act and fined $75,000 plus a surcharge of $18,750.

According to the government, Normerica uses a scent product called Clean Burst that’s added to its cat litter.

In August 2019, a neighbor reported a strong odor to the Ministry of Environment, describing it as a “cleaning product scent” that was irritating the eyes and throat of those near the plant at 46 Morton Ave.

The next day, ministry staff checked with the plant manager about the complaint and were told the company hadn’t “run anything scent-wise” the previous day.

But the for several days following, neighbors on Morton called both Normerica and the ministry, saying there was a strong odor similar to Irish Spring soap in the air.

Again, the plant manager reported it had been investigated and said it was unlikely to have been caused by plant operations.

Almost a month later, on Sept. 11, a neighboring business reported a foamy substance with a soapy odor coming up from a sewer drain on their property.

Ministry staff showed up and found the odor was the same as that in the complaint reported in August. They also found foam in a catch basin and in a ditch on Normerica’s property.

Later that day, an inspector from the city met with the plant manager at Normerica and was told there had been a spill of Clean Burst on Aug. 19. The inspector told the manager to contact the Spills Action Center at the ministry.

The manager told the center that around Aug. 10, a drum of Clean Burst supposedly was punctured on a loading dock, spilling approximately 200 liters of the chemical.

It was the first time the spill had been reported.

A lab analysis of samples collected by the ministry on Sept. 11 from the storm sewer outfall and the catch basin on the plant property confirmed it was Clean Burst, which is classified as a combustible liquid.

Clean Burst can cause allergic skin reactions, suspected damage to the fertility of an unborn child, breathing irritation or asthma-like symptoms, eye irritation and nausea and vomiting if ingested.

Normerica is part of an international company under the name Minerals Technologies, with plants around North America, Australia, China and Brazil.

The Brantford plant is a manufacturer of pet food and litter.

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