TORONTO - The province is putting the public at risk as it awaits expert advice on the safety of propane storage plants, almost half of which turned up violations during a recent investigation, opposition leaders said Tuesday.
  
While most of the violations found at 88 of the 196 sites surveyed weren't deemed immediately dangerous, seven of them had problems considered to be "immediate hazards" by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority.

The review was the result of a massive explosion last month at Sunrise Propane in Toronto. The pre-dawn blast forced thousands from their homes and killed a Sunrise employee. A Toronto firefighter also died at the scene of the blast.

The province is doing everything it can to ensure propane depots are safe and is awaiting the advice of independent experts, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday.

"We've got a couple of independent experts who are going to provide us with the best advice, and from a government perspective, they're going to do that at breakneck speed," McGuinty said.

"We look forward to receiving that advice, and we're prepared to do whatever it takes to better protect public safety."

The violations not considered immediately dangerous included weeds being too close to tanks and improper storage. The seven plants deemed an "immediate hazard" were in Toronto, Kincardine, Kitchener, Chatham, St. George, Bancroft and Waterloo.

The fact that nearly half the facilities in Ontario were not in compliance shows that "a whole bunch of people were asleep at the switch," said Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory.

"They should be moving to very regular inspections now and to taking steps now as an interim measure until we get these reports," Tory said.

"They're constantly waiting for reports on which they never act."
  
The results of the audit show that self-regulation by the industry doesn't work, New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton said.

"You cannot have companies inspecting and regulating themselves when the public's safety and health are at risk," said Hampton.

"Five and six years ago, members of the McGuinty cabinet said that this whole idea of self-regulation and self-inspection would put public health and safety at risk, and that's exactly what happened."

The safety agency, which regulates propane facilities in the province, came under intense scrutiny following the Aug. 10 explosion.

The provincial government doesn't manage the inspections but does oversee the standards authority, a private regulatory system.

McGuinty answered initial calls to dismantle the arm's-length TSSA and bring inspections back under government control by saying any action would be premature until inspections, which it called for, are complete.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Minister Harinder Takhar declined to say Tuesday whether he believes a review of the regulatory system is needed, stressing that his main concern is to ensure the public is safe.

The province is acting quickly enough, even though the full inspection report won't be completed until late October at the earliest, Takhar said.

"I ordered the review of all facilities, and that was completed within one week, and all the actions were taken in order to make sure that the propane facilities that are working are safe," Takhar said.

"Once the report comes out, then we will look at the recommendations and see what we need to do."

TSSA spokesman Dave Lisle said the regulatory system was solid, noting that since the agency took over there has been a 60 per cent reduction in serious injuries and deaths.

Several of the violations, he added, were "housekeeping" matters that have since been resolved.