Copper Cliff takes leak in stride – by Ryan Byrne (Sudbury Star – August 14, 2015)

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Thursday’s leak of nitrogen dioxide at Vale’s acid plant has at least one Copper Cliff resident thinking.

Carrie Calvano said the situation was scary. “I didn’t hear (the horn) initially and then when I went to let my dog out, I heard the sirens and the trucks and everything coming in – I even had my radio on,” Calvano said.

“I closed everything and got my husband out of bed and said, ‘OK, let’s see what happens.'” Calvano said she received a call from her work telling her not to come in until the situation was resolved.

“It was scary – we had to let our dog out and she really had to go, but we had to wait and she doesn’t understand. We had phone calls from all the relatives making sure we were OK.”

Calvano said she has been living in Copper Cliff for 14 years worry free, but has been re-evaluating her lack of concern after yesterday’s events.

Calvano and the community of Copper Cliff residents woke up to an unsightly and potentially hazardous noxious cloud hanging over the area yesterday.

The cloud of nitrogen dioxide was released around 6 a.m. during scheduled cleaning of a cooling tower at the acid plant in Copper Cliff.

Sharon Caverly runs the Kwik-Way in Copper Cliff. She said she came in to open the store just before 6 a.m. and at that time no alarms were sounding and roads in the city were open.

When she went into the store and a few minutes later “a customer came and banged on the door,” said Caverly. “That’s when I heard the horns – I didn’t hear them from inside.”

Caverly said that when she went outside, she could see the plume looming over the city.

“I wasn’t too scared – I was inside with the air conditioning off and I guess you kind of just have to wait it out – we are OK to go now, though.”

Caverly added she is a little worried about living so close to the acid plant as she is concerned with something happening to her business.

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