After the police bomb squad was called out to deal with a suspicious package Wednesday afternoon in Calgary’s Manchester Industrial Park, several explosions could be heard and smoke could be seen rising from behind a gravel berm. In a briefing at the City of Calgary’s Emergency Operations Centre, Deputy Police Chief Cliff O’Brien warned there would be more explosions as emergency crews conducted a series of controlled explosions to destroy the material, which he identified as picric acid.
“This particular acid is commonly used in labs and there’s lots of legit reasons for it,” said O’Brien.
“It is safe to transport and has no problems if it is properly packaged; however, if it is mislabeled and not stored properly, it becomes very dangerous.” On its website, Transport Canada says due to its intense bright yellow colour, picric acid is commonly used in chemistry labs to make dyes and explosives — but also describes it as highly shock, heat, and friction sensitive explosive, making it one of the most dangerous chemicals being used today in chemistry labs.Investigators were initially called around noon on Tuesday after the package was discovered outside a business in the 4700 block of First Street southwest.
The package was too unstable to move safely, according to the police, and it was probably delivered to the wrong address. The situation was determined to be so volatile that businesses and homes were evacuated in an area spanning several city blocks, with the Red Cross called in to help those who were forced from their homes.
Additionally, the airspace within two nautical miles of the region was shut down, bus routes in the region were shut down by Calgary Transit, and CTrain riders were warned to anticipate delays.
Airspace closed, businesses evacuated after explosive chemical found in Calgary
