Bad acid trip: Dozens of cars written off, thousands of insurance claims filed after chemical spill

The Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) the province's mainauto insurance provider is wading through some 2,500 insurance claims after two transport trucks leaving the Tecklead smelterleaked sulphuric acidearlier this year on the main highway through Trail, B.C.

Among the dozens of reported writeoffs are the City of Trail'syear-old fire truck and and a firecommand vehicle, worth a combined $1 million.

AM Ford Sales Ltd., aTrail car dealership, is reporting at least40 vehicle writeoffs, and several other Trail residents say their vehicles are writeoffs as well.

However, ICBCsaidmany of thecustomers are reporting claims as a precaution, because the potential for acid damage can be hard to predict.

Fivemonths after the incidents, people in the area have a lot of questions about how the spills could have occurred and why they weren't told more.

A total of just under 300 litres wasspilled, in and around Trail, on two separate days in April and May, with the earlier spill leaving a 16-kilometre smear of acid alongHighway 3Bthat nearly reachedthe U.S. border. The second spill was six kilometres in length along the same stretch of road.

Residents say thousands of vehicles are believed to have driven through the spillsduring the hours the acid was present,and people are now determining the extent of the damage.

The Trailfire department saidit will miss its new truck.

"Engine 374 is our number one responding engine.It's definitely the workhorse of our fleet," saidCapt.Greg Ferraby, with Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue.

Ferraby saidICBChas written off the truck.

"Their big concern with our engine was the brakes themselves. When the electronics shut down, the whole truck shuts down," he said.

Ferrabyadded that more than half of the 20firefighters at his hall have had their personal vehicles scrapped as well, due to the spills.

"My wife's vehicle and my vehicle are both written off. I had a brand new truck with 17,000 kilometres. My wife's had 20,000 and they are both being crushed."

Teck responds

In a statement released Thursday, Tecksaiditalong with WestcanBulk Transport,and emergency servicespromptly responded to the spills.

Itsaid lime rock was used to neutralize the acid.The roadway was flushed with water, drains were coveredand tests were conducted to confirm the acid was no longer a threat.

Tecksaid the acidfrom both spills was neutralized within hours while the road was closed to traffic.

Yetresidents say dozensof vehicles are being written off.

Acting Trail MayorLisa Pasin saidmany people are still affected by the spill and are frustrated,wondering why information didn't come sooner.

"The City of Trail has no jurisdiction on the provincial highway, and we are disappointed atthe amount of information that is forthcoming to the public," said Pasin.

'Highest traffic in the WestKootenay'

Dan Ashman runs the AMFord dealership just off the highway where the acid leaked. He saidmore than three dozen of his vehicles were damaged and are now writeoffs.

Some, he said, were brand-new vehicles that were being taken out for a test drive at the time. Others were trade-ins, brought to the dealership after the spills.

"It's unfortunate, but I have three new vehiclesand 37 used, all going tobe crushed [because] of this acid spill," said Ashman.

"It's not just Trail, it's the region. People who live inCastlegarwork in Trail. You've got a corridor of 22,000people. It's the highest traffic in the WestKootenay."

Ashmansaidhe and many others in the city are stuck in limbo waiting for their insurance claims to be processed, and theyare frustrated by thelack of information about the spills coming from Teck, Westcan and ICBC.

In a statement, ICBCsaidit has dedicated ateam of 30 staff to work on thefile exclusively, in an effort to expedite the process.

ICBCalso added that it's"too early to provide an estimated loss," and wouldn't comment on whether claims this large are going to affect ratesthroughoutthe province.

With files from Bob Keating

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