VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – People walking near Vancouver’s Kits pool in March may have noticed a strong smell.

According to a WorkSafe BC report, potentially dangerous chemicals were released into the air from pool renovation work.

The report says nine employees working for sub-contractor Alliance Painting and prime contractor Smith Bros & Wilson LTD had been spraying polyester resins in the pool under scaffolding and a tarp with inadequate ventilation.

“This unbalanced ventilation setup resulted in air contaminated with organic vapours that produced an objectionable odor (styrene and methyl ethyl ketone) escaping the enclosure without first passing through air scrubbers,” says the report, which was produced after WorkSafe investigators visited the site on March 18.

The document also states “the strong odour of organic solvents was detectable from the parking lot, from approximately 200 meters away.”

The report’s author notes styrene can have serious health effects – and can cause irritation to the skin and eyes – and are even carcinogenic.

The work was stopped until ventilation could be improved, but the report says the concrete sealing had been going on for weeks.

None of the workers appeared to have been at risk. “The organic vapour fumes we smelled just outside the enclosure were intense, however SBW (Smith Bros) reported that no workers were being exposed inside the enclosure because they were all wearing respiratory protection.”

In a statement, the City of Vancouver says the work posed no hazard to people in the area.

We are confident the smell carried no health risk to staff or the public.

We have been working with our prime contractor and their team, our internal Health and Safety representatives, and WorkSafeBC. The WorkSafeBC order was not related to any risk to local residents regarding the fumes, but rather some actions a subcontractor has taken to improve the worksite and activity. We have ensured the prime contractor has made the changes outlined in the WorkSafeBC order.

The active ingredient styrene in the coating has a very low odour threshold, meaning that it can be detected at extremely low concentrations.

We have been working with the prime contractor to limit odour and have installed 10 air filters onsite. Additionally, an industrial hygiene consultant has been asked to conduct daily ambient air styrene monitoring in the area accessible to the public near the pool. The current ambient readings are 10% or less of the safe limit for workers.

This means that although the smell can be objectionable, we are assured there is no risk to our staff, contractors or the public’s health. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

We are confident the contractor is doing everything to WorkSafeBC legislation and they are monitoring the emissions regularly to ensure exposure limits are safe for workers and people nearby.

This work is almost complete, and are looking forward to reopening the pool on May 19.