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What's with the strong ammonia smell in the east end???Did Koch have a leak that we don't know about???

The wind is just blowing your way. There is no leak, you don't need to evacuate.

If there is no leak then why can you smell it??? Are they just releasing it because they can??? Pretty strong smell of a dangerous chemical if you ask me within city limits...

Is there still a detectable smell of ammonia?

Quite often Koch lets off fumes from their plant, but they say it is not at a high enough level to be a cause for concern. Koch has a few air quality monitoring stations located around the east end and there property where they test the air. They have been doing this since day one. Some nights the smell is really bad, others it is not.  
 
Edited by The_Young_Man, 2016-03-03 22:12:37

Hmmm well I'm sure the instant headache and being stuffed up when I smelt it had nothing to do with it considering I don't normally get headaches and it's rest assured that they say the levels are fine but what would a independent air quality company say that wasn't on their payroll???

Viking Guy said "What's with the strong ammonia smell in the east end???Did Koch have a leak that we don't know about??? "

Welcome to the East End!

Why did all non-essential staff evacuate yesterday then?!?!

tangerinetoes said "Why did all non-essential staff evacuate yesterday then?!?! "

They always do when the plant starts up. It's common industry practice.

If you people who are so concerned you're dying from Koch venting on a windy day, then call them and ask about it. Don't come on here and speculate and act as tho it's a catastrophic event!

First of all Brandon2012 why are you so relentless in sticking up for this company??? That plant shouldn't be within 10 miles of Brandon never mind within city limits... Brandon was here first before some dumb dumb approved building it so close to here..This is a public forum where people are allowed to voice their opinions and concerns about environmental or whatever concerns...There was hardly any wind that night and they should be smart enough to know not to vent it out as you say when the direction of the wind is into the city...I know of people in the south end who smelt it to and it was very strong and if you think it is so safe to breath it in then why don't you stand in front of the vents when it is released...

Mainly people just come on here because they are complainers and decided to buy a house in that area just to complain. I did not know that the houses around the plant are from the 60's as well as the school and homes that the city let grow over to the plant. Oh well better off without that plant here and let the 250 people who work for the company flip burgers and live in a box with there family's because we have complainers on here.  
 
By the way I guess the veggies you eat are 100 percent organic  
 
And you must be new to town or can't hear but there are sirens around the town and a radio you are suppose to listen to in for emergency purposes. go to the city's web site. Go to the city and ask for a brochure they can explain it in speech or writing.  
Why make a post in your house and wait for someone to respond instead of trouble shooting in case there was a real emergency?  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edited by Shogun22, 2016-03-05 16:22:19

Maybe you should go to city hall and see when houses were first built in the east end before you inform people about that and yes your 250 jobs are more important then the people of Brandon because if it ever has a major leak which could happen and if the wind is right it will cover at least half of Brandon not just the east end...But go ahead and make your money and breath it in...lol

I don't in anyway want to start an argument or get involved in one, but the problem is when it comes to complaining about Koch is there's nothing you or anyone on a public forum can do about what they are doing or releasing into the air. There a very large company from the USA and there are environmental laws they have to follow. The thing is here in Brandon they haven't had any major leaks or emergencies since Koch bought the plant from Simplot, but down in the states they have a very bad track record. Just go onto Google and look up the Koch brothers and you will see.  
 
But again there not going to change anything because a few people are complaining on a public forum and Koch is currently in the process of doing millions in upgrades to the plant, so I doubt the plant will ever move.  
 
 
 
Edited by The_Young_Man, 2016-03-05 16:58:39

There are a couple enterprises (if memory serves) that could possibly (in some situations) be a risk in the east end industrial park. Koch is just the most noticeable.  
 
Like everything else risky and dangerous (including our 2 rail lines, particularly the CN spur), it would be nice to have them in unpopulated areas. In fact, in terms of rail lines, it would be best for the overall growth of the city to pay out the costs of moving at least the CN line. Its a hard sell when even necessary infrastructure projects go by the wayside with bandaid fixes. But as they say, no pain, no gain. Do it now, and it wont be like the water bill fiasco soon to be had by all.  
 
But apologies for getting derailed (pun intended).  
 
With chemical plants, there is not much one can do if cities grow around them, or if they choose to locate close to cities. It be nice to have them far away. But labour, sercives/ammenities, logistical connections. You wont find these in the boonies. Unless your in oil country anyway.

opened in 1965 according to this article.  
 
http://reliableplant.com/read/11994/jr-simplot  
 
http://economicdevelopmentbrandon.com/images/Business_Profiles/Koch_Fertilizer.pdf  
 
 
 
 
Edited by Trevor B, 2016-03-05 23:38:05

Dear Viking Guy welcome to the east end, its a very nice place to grow up even if it doesn't carry the cache of a west end address. Unfortunately you decided to buy a house adjacent to the industrial section of town, quit whining about the smell.  
 
On any given day you may get the odour from the sewage treatment plant, the garbage dump, Pfizer or the Koch Brothers  
 
Suck it up bettercup your life is not that hard

Brandon's sewage lagoon is the source of offensive smell. When you flush do you think the feces just disappears.

When that plant was built it was in the country.  
These plants are monitored very close.  
The ammonia smell is no worse than your wife using javex.  
Yes thats ammonia also.  
And the ammonia won't stuff you sinuses up, if anything it clean them out.  

People want jobs but they don't want industrial smells. They want to eat beef but don't want livestock smells. They don't like the smell of canola on a wet day. People in the urban environment expect everyone else to do their dirty jobs and complain when they get a nasty smell. They don't want trains running thru their city but they don't realize the only reason the city is there is because of the tracks.

No one has ever been stuffed up from the smell of ammonia.. If you actually smell potent enough ammonia you'll be more worried about your fried nasal passages than being stuffed! As far as the evacuation goes.. there's always a risk when you're igniting that much fuel, best not put any one in danger if it can be avoided. No matter how small the risk.