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Coal Smoke Adds to Band's Cancer Alarm |
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NewsToday: Sat November, 5 2005
TheTyee.ca
Elk Falls mill We Wai Kai say they were steamrolled by mill's permit approval.
By Quentin Dodd
Published: November 4, 2005
A Campbell River area mill has been granted permission to continue to
burn coal, outraging leaders of nearby First Nations band worried about
high cancer rates among their people.
Less than a month after the We Wai Kai First Nation on BC's Quadra
Island formally complained that the government hadn't met the law by
consulting with them sufficiently, the permit approval was rushed into
place, claim band leaders and their lawyer.
The granting of the permit to the Elk Falls mill is the latest twist in
a struggle by the We Wai Kai to discover why, over the last decade,
they've seen much higher levels of cancer at their Cape Mudge Village
Reserve on Quadra Island than at their Quinsam Reserve in Campbell
River.
The reason, they say, may be that the Cape Mudge reserve receives
higher and more regular seasonal fallout from air-borne smoke-stack
emissions from the nearby Cascadia (formerly Norske Skog) mill than
does the Quinsam Reserve. For years the band has requested testing of
mill emissions at Cape Mudge to shed light on their health crisis.
Toxic plume?
For several years the mill has been testing the burning of coal as an
auxiliary fuel in its boilers, and applied to continue the practice
indefinitely.
The We Wai Kai, through Vancouver lawyer Alan Donovan, informed the
government they didn't want to see the mill's coal-burning test-period
permit extended until proper monitoring studies have been done directly
at the island-village reserve to assess the amount and nature of
chemicals the site receives each year during the peak season from
August through October. During that period, prevailing wind frequently
blows the mill emissions over Quadra Island that eventually settle
directly over the village.
On Thursday, the We Wai Kai received notification that the provincial
waste management branch has granted Cascadia a permit to burn coal on
an indefinite basis, according to band administrator Brian Kelly.
The permit-approval notification to the We Wai Kai indicates the mill
will be required to install and operate an emissions-monitoring station
at the village by April 30, as the band had long been requesting, says
Kelly. But it's still not clear how long the monitoring station will be
required to be in place, says Kelly.
Band demands more consultation
Kelly and other band leaders charge the government has failed to properly consult with the band.
He said after Donovan's letter went to regional waste manager Randy
Alexander, the official extended the public-consultation period by a
month to the end of October. Alexander let it be known that a decision
could still be handed down before Oct. 31 if the government agency was
satisfied it had addressed the First Nation's concerns and issues, and
then held a meeting which lasted just a couple of hours with a few band
officials.
"There wasn't time to meet with the (Band) Council," Kelly said, adding
that the meeting had basically consisted of a question-and-answer
exchange in which the government representatives asked questions to
find out what the First Nation's main concerns were, and the Band
personnel outlined their biggest concerns.
That, Kelly said, does not constitute sufficient consultation, and the
council will discuss the situation early next week to decide its next
move.
Mirror image communities
Backing the band on coal burning issue is the Sierra Club and activists
running the Reach For Unbleached (RFU) campaign against pulp mill
pollution.
The Cape Mudge Reserve and its sister community the Quinsam Reserve
share similar age, gender and population-size figures, as well as
identical lifestyle and diet patterns. Yet Cape Mudge villagers,
exposed to more of the mill's air pollution, have three times the
cancer rate recorded by its sister community over more than 10 years.
Recently, in preparation for its request to extend its temporary permit
to burn coal, the Cascadia mill finally did launch a study of its air
emissions. But the We Wai Kai claim that study wasn't going to include
a monitoring or sampling station at the We Wai Kai's Cape Mudge
village, even during the August-through-October period when the area of
the village receives the plume of emissions from the mill's stacks most
often.
'Extraordinarily high cancer death rates'
Donovan's letter to the provincial government on behalf of the First
Nation, citing "respiratory ailments and extraordinarily high cancer
death rates", reminded that Cape Mudge band members had for years asked
unsuccessfully for suitable mill-emissions monitoring at the village.
Donovan said that studies should be conducted over at least two years, to cover that number of peak-fallout periods.
Upon learning of the terms of the permit approval on Thursday, Donovan,
accused the government of "rushing ahead with little to no scientific
data. They don't have the science and they haven't done the groundwork
for a properly-informed decision."
"Additional contamination from the burning of coal would create further
damage to the health, safety and enjoyment of life of this aboriginal
community," says Donovan's letter on behalf of the band. In October,
mill manager Norm Facey downplayed the band's concerns, telling
Canadian Press that if the mill were causing health problems, mill
employees would be the ones most affected and the Workers Compensation
Board would have stepped in.
Facey also said that if the Elk Falls mill was not allowed to continue
burning coal, it would seriously hurt the mill's bottom line.
Campbell River based journalist Quentin Dodd is a regular contributor to The Tyee.
Blogs Discussing this Story:
commentator: Ron Erwin: This is truly a perfect example of eco-frauds
in combination with an Indian Band proporting no scienc or junk science
in an attemt to harm and slow down our economy. There are thousands of
these situations like this going on in Canada. It's a total drag for
everyone.
With what we have always known about the health of Indians on
reservations, no matter if they are in the middle of nowhere, how can
we take this emotional, non scientific rant seriously.
What a bunch of bunk. There is not a sucker born every minute, sorry.
commentor: crhposted: 14 Hours Agoahhhh...nothing like a good chemical
cocktail everyday, compliments of GC and his merry puppets
commentor: tommymooreposted: 12 Hours AgoThe pulp mill here in Powell
River had a trial of 'tire-derived fuel'. Luckily, the resulting goop
screwed up the power boiler but good, forcing them to rebuild the
burner system. I'm thinking coal will the next order of business. Say
hello to elevated mercury levels. Say hello to the neo-Victorian era,
where one's 12 year old can get a job in the coal mines to help feed an
increasingly filthy industry who suddenly "can't make a go of it" with
proper environmental regulations. Thanks Gordo et al! This provincial
government seems wont to mimic the amazing nastiness perpetrated on the
US by a well-known chimp to the south. Time to drill a test well in Ron
Erwin's backyard. Mind you, it'll probably be sour gas..
commentor: yarrowposted: 12 Hours AgoYes Ron there is sucker born every
minute -- you are an obvious case in point. You truly have the most
simplistic concept of the economy I can imagine. So do you have job
with BC Liberals? An office boy for Monsanto perhaps? It baffles me how
you can hold onto the simplistic concepts you do Ron, but you are
consistent in the lies and hate you peddle.
commentor: Davey-boyposted: 9 Hours AgoRon, how did things go down at
the accountant's office? Don't you remember? You were paying 65% in
taxes every year, and I told you to get with the program. Well, did
you fix the problem? You didn't? Sucker.
commentor: Bob Rogersposted: 7 Hours Ago"mill manager Norm Facey
downplayed the band's concerns, telling Canadian Press that if the mill
were causing health problems, mill employees would be the ones most
affected.." If the mill manager took the trouble to look up at the
emissions from the stacks he would notice that the pollution is blowing
AWAY from the mill therefore the employees are in the safest place.
commentor: BC Maryposted: 17 Minutes AgoWe're all in this together ...
none of this coal effluent should enter what's left of the earth's
atmosphere. I'm writing to Gordo today. Again.
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