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Norske ranked among nation’s top polluters |
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Gulf Islands Driftwood, June 1, 2005
Norske ranked among nation’s top polluters
By SEAN MCINTYRE
Staff Writer
Tensions relating to health concerns and emission levels are at a
heightened state following the release last week of information ranking
NorskeCanada’s Crofton Division as the eighth worst polluter in the
nation.
The report, compiled with data from the National Pollutant Release
Inventory and presented by the Commission for Environmental
Cooperation, ranked 2,257 sites across the country based on total
on-site releases.
Crofton division vice-president Don McKendrick acknowledged the Crofton
facility was a large industrial operation but said a more accurate
ranking would have Crofton placing around 50th position.
He said data interpretations failed to look at the overall picture and were largely based on modelled emissions levels.
“You can model until you’re blue in the face, but the rubber hits the road when you look at real measurements,” he said.
According to Michael Ableman of the Crofton Airshed Citizens Group (CACG), official estimates are conservative.
He advised people to look at the numbers and judge for themselves.
“This game has played out for too long,” he said. “It’s clear there’s a
problem and I’d rather spend time working together on a solution than
dealing with the spin.”
Information comes on the heels of a May 19 meeting in which scientists
representing NorskeCanada admitted an assessment it released last year
failed to adequately measure the health risks associated with emissions
from the company’s Crofton facility.
“The peer review, along with these admissions from Norske and Jacques
Whitford, that the study really doesn’t measure health risk, clearly
highlights the need for a proper baseline study on air quality and
health risks from the mill,” said Ableman.
The four-hour meeting held at the Crofton Community Centre featured scientist from both sides of the debate.
It was organized only weeks after a peer review conducted by scientists
from Washington-based Pioneer Technologies and Vancouver’s RWDI found
problems with the methodology of the Jacques Whitford study, the mill’s
initial baseline study conducted in 2004.
McKendrick said that meeting and others like it scheduled for coming
weeks are intended to help solve what has been a long-standing and
divisive community issue.
Statistics are available online in the National Pollutant Release
Inventory’s searchable database. It can be accessed via the Environment
Canada website at www.ec.gc.ca.
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