Work has begun to ensure any future gas releases in Wheatley are vented away from workers at the site of last summer’s explosion.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent said on Tuesday that work crews have now started installing a conductor pipe in the municipal parking lot as the first step toward redundant pressure relief.
Remediation work at the well closest to the site of the August 26 explosion was stalled on July 6 after a gas release was detected. Workers were in the process of installing a large conductor pipe over the existing well when the gas was detected.
The municipality said the two-hour gas release on July 6 measured at 24 parts per billion in the atmosphere, which is less than one-hundredth of the amount considered a safety hazard.
There has been no gas emission since that time.
The municipality said at no time was there any risk to the community beyond the evacuation zone.