Three days after chemical fumes forced them from their homes, residents of a 21-storey tower in downtown Vancouver still don't know what they were exposed to or how long they will be displaced.
Sections of Nelson and Hornby streets remained blocked off on Monday as a pungent smell continued to permeate from the Electra Building.
Residents met with city officials and the strata council at 11 a.m. hoping to learn how long it will take an industrial hygienist to survey the building and determine how many units, if any, were contaminated – but answers were not forthcoming.
"They don't know nothing, they don't know what's going on," resident David Puentes, a construction worker, told CTV News after the meeting. "They don't know if it's a day, two days, a week, two weeks."
"My tools are at home, I cannot go to work," Puentes said.
Others said they were relieved to see resources from several different agencies committed to resolving the crisis. "We got some things addressed," resident Jim Hunter said. "The concern for residents is … we're not sure what we've been breathing in."
At least one of the building's hundreds of residents is an expecting mother.
PHH Arch Environmental, an independent monitor, has been tasked with identifying the chemicals. Meanwhile, Vancouver Fire and Rescue personnel and a hazmat team have pledged to remain outside the building until the issue is resolved.
"We haven't discerned there's any concern at this point," acting fire chief Nick Delmonico told reporters on Monday. "It's more of just an abundance of caution."
Vancouver Coastal Health workers are working to determine what effects, if any, the fumes will have on residents and the Provincial Emergency Program is helping sort through insurance issues in case the evacuation becomes long-term.
Trouble at the tower began on Friday after a urethane foam product that was being used to raise the building's concrete floor had an unexpected chemical reaction. Firefighters evacuated the building for a few hours before it was determined the fumes coming from the foam were not harmful.
Fire and hazmat teams returned on Saturday; however, forcing a second evacuation until the toxicity of the fumes was confirmed. So far, nothing has been verified.
Two people were treated for chemical exposure on Friday, but no other negative effects have been reported.
The City of Vancouver environmental protection officer has ordered the residents out until the entire building can be surveyed, unit by unit, to determine whether belongings such as blankets, curtains or clothing were contaminated by fumes.
