Judge to decide if public can see document outlining Co-op Refinery's fireball and toxic emission risks

Warning: This story contains an image some may find disturbing.

A Court of Queen's Bench judge is now considering whether the public should be allowed to see a secret report about the risks Regina's Co-op Refinery poses to people who live near it.

The court case began when CBC's iTeam asked for a copy of the report through access to information. The City of Regina and the Ministry of Environment both agreed to release much of the document to CBC but the refinery opposed that decision.

• Co-op Refinery fights in court to keep Major Hazards report secret

So the matter went to court on Thursday and the judge has reserved his decision.

The Major Hazards Risk Assessment Report is a 186-page document that explores what the consequences might be for people living nearby if the refinery experienced a jet fire, fireball, pipeline failure, toxic release or other hazard.

CBC asked for the document in light of a series of explosions, fires and leaks at the facility. In a 2011 incident, dozens of workers were injured, some seriously.

• Victims of refinery explosion fear Co-op won't be held accountable

The report was created back in 2012 at the request of the province and the city. Both levels of government required the report before they would approve Co-op's plan to expand its facility.

The refinery argues that the report contains highly technical and confidential information that could be used by terrorists to plot an attack.

The refinery has also argued that if the document were released it could harm the reputation and brand of the company, because the public could misunderstand it.

A University of Regina professor, who has been studying the refinery's safety record for the past four years, dismisses those concerns.

Sean Tucker points out that the province and the city both agree that some information in the document should remain private, which should mitigate the terrorism concerns.

He said Regina people have a right to know what sort of threats they might face. 

"If there's a catastrophic event there it's going to affect potentially hundreds and thousands of people in the city of course it's in the public interest that we know," Tucker said.

"We have warning labels on household cleaners, warning labels on the vehicles we drive, warning labels on cigarette packages. So we've already crossed that bridge as a society. We disclose risks when they exist in the public interest."

If there's a catastrophic event there it's going to affect potentially hundreds and thousands of people in the city of course it's in the public interest that we know.-Sean Tucker, University of Regina

Tucker says while the refinery does a lot of good in the city and supports a lot of worthy causes, he's not impressed by the way it communicates with the public.

"In terms of public transparency on key safety issues I give them an F. They're not transparent."

Tucker says that's surprising, given that, as part of the Cooperative movement, the organization espouses socially responsible values.

"Given that they subscribe to cooperative values they should act differently than a regular corporation," said Tucker. "But up until now the evidence would suggest that they're not any different than a private corporation in terms of their communication around safety."

Officials at Co-op Refinery aren't commenting as the matter is before the courts.