Daily BrewCleanup jobs: The dubious silver lining beneath the dark cloud of disaster
Efforts to clean up a sizeable jet-fuel spill in B.C.'s Kootenay region are stepping up with plans for a hiring fair in Castlegar on Wednesday, The Canadian Press reports.
The event at a Castlegar hotel is being laid on to augment the crew of 50 workers already trying to remove what's left of the 35,000 litres of fuel released when a tanker truck tipped into Lemon Creek and ruptured on July 26.
The fuel also found its way into the larger Slocan and Kootenay rivers, a key source of drinking water for surrounding communities now relying on fresh water trucked into the area.
[ Related: Jet fuel spill into B.C. creek could result in charges ]
Like it or not, disasters provide a temporary, if unwelcome boon for companies and workers involved in the cleanup.
The floods that devastated southern Alberta communities in June drew thousands of volunteers to help residents deal with the the immediate impact of the destruction. But the longer-term work of removing toxic material and restoring damaged homes and infrastructure belonged to contractors who bolster their work forces.
Kijiji's Alberta site received a wave of ads looking for everything from general labourers to experienced drywallers and carpenters.
The Castlegar jobs fair seems unusual, since a lot of hiring these days is done via the web.
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and this year's Oklahoma tornadoes also generated hundreds of cleanup jobs, many funded by government grants aimed at employing those who'd lost their jobs because of the storm, according to About.com.
Job search engines are a good way to find such jobs, the site recommended. Typing in words such as hurricane, tornado or flood should generate results tied to companies involved in such work.
One of the biggest efforts came for the Deepwater Horizon disaster that spilled billions of litres of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
According to a review published last year, more than 47,000 people were working on the disaster, including 42,000 spill-response and cleanup workers hired by British Petroleum and its contractors. The effort cost BP an estimated US$14 billion.
[ Related: $5B price tag for Alberta flood damages could have been reduced if province heeded 2006 report ]
The horrific Lac-Megantic rail disaster, which claimed 47 lives last month, also triggered a massive cleanup, including 60 workers hired to check 180 kilometres of the Chaudiere River's banks for oil-contaminated dirt, according the Montreal Gazette.
More workers are cleaning up the centre of the eastern Quebec town, which was destroyed when derailed oil-tank cars ruptured and exploded. Crews involved in that work briefly downed tools because of concerns they would not get paid by the financially fragile Montreal, Main and Atlantic Railway, until the Quebec government stepped in to guarantee payment.
Rebuilding the town's heart will mean more jobs, probably for years.
