The incident took place on July 18, 2018, at the Edmonton Oil Refinery. It involved a failure to fully close a valve in the coker unit during the steam drying phase, resulting in the release of hydrogen sulphide gas.
Provincial court has penalized Suncor $100,000 for breaching a condition of an approval requiring that no unauthorized air effluent streams to the atmosphere be released. This is contrary to Section 227(e) of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.
Most of the penalty funds will go to a creative sentencing project with the Strathcona Community Hospital Foundation for the purchase of long-lasting respiratory support medical equipment.