Commentary The Prince George Citizen, Saturday, October 19, 1996 - 5 Development, pollution: Finding a balance by GORDON HOEKSTRA Citizen Staff Three Prince George mayoralty candidates have alluded to it, it’s definitely on the minds of environmentalists and industry is sure to take a more than passing interest in it. At issue? Now that the massive medium den-S’ty fibreboard (MDF) plant has received the go-ahead, what happens when the next heavy industrial project comes knocking on Prince George’s door? “Good question,” says Dale Mc-Mann, who heads the Prince George Brief history ■ Greatest heavy industry expansion took place in the ‘60s and 70s with Northwood and Canfor building pulp mills. Sawmills were also being built and expanded on the CNR and BCR industrial sites. ■ The 60s and 70s also saw the construction of the Husky Oil plant, B.C. Chemicals Ltd. and VVestcoast Energy — a sulphuric acid plant. ■ In the early ‘80s, North-wood Pulp and Timber twinned its existing mill with a new $279-million project. ■ Canadian Woodworks built a $5-million plant — windows, tables and chairs — in 1990 at the BCR industrial site. ■ In the early ‘90s, FMC built a $90-million hydrogen peroxide plant in two phases on Prince George Pulp Mill Road. ■ Canfor and Sinclar Enterprises were given the green light to proceed with a $133-million medium density fibreboard plant at the BCR Industrial Site. Region Development Corporation, jointly funded by the City and the regional district to attract business to the area. There’s no easy answer to it, says McMann, only more questions — lots of them. There seems to be some consensus in non-business quarters that there’s too much pollution already in the Prince George valley, and industry that would add to it right now would not be welcome. The argument that tipped the balance in favor of the $133-million MDF plant, was that while it would emit pollution, it was a key component in reducing beehive burners in the region, which spew out harmful dust and ash. But the Environmental Appeal Board, in a 32-page decision that gave Canfor and Sinclar Enterprises the green light for the value-added forest industry project, also concluded after two weeks of testimony from the Ministry of Environment, Canfor and the Nechako Environmental Coalition: “There is no dispute that the Bowl area has problems with its air quality.” The Ministry of Environment in Prince George says the Prince George airshed is effectively capped for large developments that would add fine particulate (fine particles of dust and ash) or TRS — an industrial sulfur byproduct. Among the questions that need to be answered, suggest observers: ■ What pollutants are out there and in what amounts? ■ Where do they come from? How much does industry contribute, and is it increasing or decreasing? ■ Could prevailing winds have an effect on where you could build heavy industry or locate residential development? ■ How much can new technology increase pollution control? ■ What happens over time if government pollution limits become stricter? ■ How might population increases affect the airshed? ■ Should the city develop an in- PM PM 10 NOx CO VOC S02 86% 85% 26% 67% 39% 92% 6 7 1 3 27 0 4 5 1 6 11 0 3 3 71 24 24 8 Sources of pollution in Prince George Airshed in 1995 — preliminary statistics from B.C. Environment: Industrial Commercial Residential Mobile (exhaust) PM — Particulates come from wood-waste burners, pulp mills and road dust in Prince George. Particulates range in size from 100 micrograms to .001 micrograms. The larger particles may cause a nuisance or irritation. PM 10 — Measures fine particles smaller than 10 micrograms which cause the greatest health effects because they are inhaled deep into the lungs. NOx — Nitrogen oxides are formed during high-temperature combustion, mostly from vehicle exhaust and industrial processes. The oxides can combine with hydrocarbons in sunlight to produce ozone, a product of smog. Higher incidents of eye irritants and respiratory problems occur during smog conditions. CO — Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic colorless, odorless gas that’s a product of inefficient combustion and can come from vehicles and industry. VOC — Volatile organic compounds usually come from hydrocarbon types of materials and can be emitted from fast-food outlets, dry kilns, beehive burners, vehicles and backyard burning. S02 — Sulfur dioxide is formed primarily by the combustion of material containing sulfur. At present major sources in Prince George come from the Husky refinery, the three pulp mills and Westcoast Energy, a sulphuric acid plant. It is a colorless gas that has a pungent odor at higher concentrations. At very high levels it can cause immediate irritation of the respiratory tract and aggravate existing respiratory diseases. TRS — Total reduced sulfur comes from hydrogen sulfide and methyl mer-baptan (substance added to natural gas to make it smell). TRS is very odorous even at very low levels down to one part per billion. It’s main source is pulp mills and it was high in the 70s and 80s, prior to steam strippers being added to the mills. It appeared to cause nausea, running eyes and nose, dizziness, headaches and insomnia in sensitive individuals. dustrial park outside the city? The idea of building an industrial park outside the city — which, at first glance, seems to solve many problems — is not that simple, says McMann. While the next big project could come knocking this afternoon or six months from now, it could also be six years away. If you build a large industrial park — hundreds of acres — to accommodate heavy industry with road and rail access, gas, water, hydro and zoning, it takes taxpayers’ money, pointed out McMann. Reel in a big project six months from now, and you’re a genius, he observed, but if it takes six years, you’ll have lot of people questioning how you spent those tax dollars. It might make more sense to commit dollars to developing a site if and when industry decides to locate here, he says. But the idea of moving pollution outside the city limits, is not appealing to everyone. “We’re all downwind or downstream from some place,” admonishes Caroyln Linden, the co-chair of the Nechako Environmental Coalition, which was instrumental in a 13-month environmental appeal of the MDF plant and exacting costly restrictions on the project that will make pollution control more stringent. Linden says she is not in favor of simply moving pollution, adding that what is needed is a different approach. “We need to bring in clean industry or industry that has environmentally safe pollution technology.” Although no examples of clean industry came immediately to mind, she says partnerships between industry and the university in research could be a starting point. “Come up with good technology and you’ve got a winner.” Right now, though, the groundwork for answering some of the questions on whether more heavy industry should be, or can be, built in the city is being laid. The Prince George Airshed Technical Management Committee is set to deliver a background report to city council this month. The report includes an inventory of pollution sources and amounts, describes the importance of land use (zoning) and recommends establishing a decision-making process and methods of gathering public input. The report is meant to culminate in a comprehensive airshed management plan. The fundamental idea is how to go from a permit-by-permit basis to a plan that involves all levels of government, including the ministries of health and environment, city hall and the regional district, says Dave Sutherland, who heads the environmental section of the Ministry of Environment in Prince George and shares the chairing duties on the committee. It will give developers and local politicians an idea of what is possible ahead of time, he explains. Developing a comprehensive airshed management plan is long overdue, believes Sutherland, especially since government pollution standards are becoming stricter over time as science uncovers more information about the dangers of pollutants. “When you get into a situation where pollutants or contaminants are too high (in the airshed), it’s like having a big train,” stressed Sutherland. “How do you stop it and then turn it around? It takes a long time.” It’s not easy to get disability benefits I am writing this letter in response to Friday’s (Oct. 4) article, MP Hill Could Use A Reality Checker, and the statement by the writer of that article (Ernie Kaesmodel), “As the system now stands, we have people in their thirties who are on benefits indefinitely, because they can’t take the stress of coming into work. Once a person has qualified, they are good for life. There doesn’t appear to be adequate checking of claims further down the road.” I take great offence to the statement (and I’m in my thirties) “we can’t take the stress of coming in to work.” What are you basing your statements on, Mr. Kaesmodel? Have you personally been in the unfortunate position that you had to apply for CPP disability or another LTD plan? Do you personally know someone in that situation? I developed an incurable illness call fibromyalgia approximately eight years ago. I continued to work for three years, unable to get a diagnosis, in extreme pain and fatigue doing everything humanly possible to stay at work, and spent thousands of dollars of personal savings in the process. I would love to be able to go YOUR OPINION to work every day. My whole life has been turned upside down and my health taken away by no fault of my own, and staying at home is certainly not my choice in life. My job had a lot of stress attached to it and I was there for 15 years. Stress had nothing to do with my being unable to work, and I’d still be there if I hadn’t become ill. As to your statement, “once a person has qualified, they are good for life. There doesn’t appear to be ade-uate checking of claims further own the road,” is totally false. My LTD insurance company sends updates to my doctor for further medical information. I would suggest to Mr. Kaesmodel that before you make such broad statements as these you take into consideration the facts, perhaps attend some of the support group meetings of us on LTD and hear the horror stories we’ve all been through just trying to qualify for LTD and how difficult it is for each of us to get by, day by day — physically, mentally, with reduced finances and rising medical costs in a world that doesn’t understand or sometimes care. I’m sure I’m not the only person you’ve angered with such statements. — D. McRoberts TELL US ABOUT IT! Don’t just fume about the news or wish things would improve, write a Letter to The Editor — it’s the most effective way to tell the entire community how you feel about topics of public interest. Keep your letters short — 300 words or less. Sign them and include your address and telephone number. Your name will be included with the letter when it is published, unless there’s a good reason for anonymity. We at The Citizen try to print all the letters , we receive, but won’t publish ones containing libel, personal abuse, sexism or racism. Material presented as fact must indeed be factu- . al. Copyright in letters and other materials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for publication remains with the author, but the Publisher and its licencees may freely reproduce them in print, electronic or other forms. MAIL: The Citizen, 150 Brunswick St., Prince George, B.C. P.O. Box 5700. V2L 5K9. BY MODEM: 562-8439. Protocol: Xmodem. Include your phone number in the file. FAX: 562-7453. E-MAIL: CITIZEN@NETBISTRO.COM Prince George already has its share of heavy industry, and our fog traps the pollution. Is more industry a good idea? FALL op TUE RoKAAN EMPIRE...