Waste water from a new federal laboratory designed to handle the most serious human and animal diseases was accidentally released into Winnipeg’s sewer system last month.
The waste, from showers, sinks and steam condensation, was not harmful.
But the incident and the way it was handled has shown problems with the lab’s public relations strategy.
The lab houses scientists from Health Canada’s microbiology bureau and from the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease, part of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The scientists have been working in the lab since December 1997, although they have not yet begun work with the so-called Level 4 deadly, contagious diseases.
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On June 23, a maintenance worker released 2,000 litres of waste water from a tank into the sewer system without checking that the waste had been sterilized.
Lee Thompson, chief of safety and environmental services, said emergency system alarms went off when the tank opened.
Lab officials did not notify the public about the incident because the waste was not hazardous, he said. Winnipeggers found out about the incident July 13 from a newspaper report. Reaction was harsh.
Thompson said most people don’t understand how the lab works and what safety precautions are built in. Only a small part of the building handles Level 4 diseases, he explained. But people have unrealistic fears of those diseases, such as ebola, from movies.
Even if the waste had come from a lab in full operation, waste is sterilized before it goes into holding tanks, then sterilized again before being released into sewers, said Thompson.
Since the incident, the lab has changed its procedures so a safety officer first verifies a holding tank full of waste has been sterilized, and then tags it.
Two maintenance workers must then verify the presence of the tag before tanks are dumped.
These procedures are being checked and approved by scientific experts from other labs.
