Crews start clean-up after 600,000 litres of gas spilled at Cape Breton tank farm

The clean-up is underway at a fuel tank farm in Cape Breton after roughly 600,000 litres of gasoline spilled from a puncture in one of the tanks.

Remediation and emergency crews are on scene removing the spilled fuel and spraying the area with foam, says Cape Breton Regional Municipality spokesperson Christina Lamey.

On Friday around noon, fire and hazmat crews, along with police, were called to the Imperial Oil Esso Station tank farm in Sydney.

Residents were told by mid-afternoon that it was “in their best interest” to leave the area.

“I had an officer come to my door and ask me if I was able to evacuate, that there was an oil spill,” says area resident Kyler Howel. “I said, ‘Yep, one minute,’ and I was out.”

Lamey said Saturday that nearby residents may notice a stronger smell of fuel during the clean-up process. She says that’s because the gas is moving back into a holding tank and the wind direction has changed since Friday.

Lamey says “there is no current evacuation recommendation” in place for area residents.