Mayor Don Darling is calling for action after an explosion at the American Iron and Metal facility on the west side last night. The explosion happened just before 5:30 and rattled windows and shook buildings in the area and across the harbour on the central peninsula. One person said she felt the impact in the Public Gardens area of the city.
In a tweet immediately following the incident – Darling said it’s not about being anti-industry or anti-port. The mayor believes the facility isn’t following conditions under its approval to operate and it is impacting people’s lives. He says “the time for action is now and explosion must not be normalized.”
Port Saint John’s Director of Communications – Paula Copeland – says AIM notified them of an incident at 5:26pm. The company leases land for its facility from the port.
The company’s operations approval is issued by the provincial Environment Department. Under the terms of approval – the department is notified of this type of incident and does a follow up investigation. Operations at the facility were suspended at different times in late 2018 and early 2019 following a series of explosions in the metal shredder unit. The company implemented a number of changes under pressure from the Environment Department and residents including formation of Community Liaison Committee.
