Investigating the explosion that rocked a small town

An explosion rocked downtown Wheatley, Ontario last year, injuring 20 people, destroying property and terrifying residents and shaking buildings kilometres away. The cause is assumed to be an “orphan” natural gas well tucked away near a building’s basement, one of many thousands left behind after the last 150 years of oil and gas drilling in Ontario.

And while not all orphan wells have been uncovered, the building’s owner had been sounding the alarm about the noxious, highly-flammable gas leaking out of this one for months.

Globe energy reporter Emma Graney tells us about what went wrong in Wheatley, and why experts tell her another explosion like it is “all but guaranteed.”

Read more on The Globe’s investigation here.

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