A Toxic Waste Gasifier in Kamloops? No Thanks!

The Issue

The Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation has applied to the BC Ministry of Environment for an air emissions permit for its proposed gasification plant to burn CP Rail’s creosote ties. ACC wants Kamloops city council to allow it to dump gasification ash and wastewater in our landfill and sewage lagoons. Kamloops is a city of 85,000 people situated beside an important salmon river. It makes no sense to allow a company with no track record to pilot-test a toxic waste gasification facility in our community.

What to do

If you are concerned about this issue, please write to Rick Adams at the Kamloops Ministry of Environment and to Kamloops City Council, and support SaveKamloops events. To find out more about what’s going on, please go to www.savekamloops.ca or email savekamloops@gmail.com.

Health and environmental concerns

  • The Canadian government is concerned about creosote-treated wood products*
  • The Canadian government has added creosote-impregnated waste materials to its Priority Substances List*

The substance creosote-impregnated waste materials (CIWM) was added to the Priority Substances List under CEPA because of concerns about the potential for environmental contamination from waste materials.

  • Creosote contains harmful chemical compounds*

Creosote is a complex and variable mixture produced from coal that is made up of more than 300 compounds. There are five major classes of compounds in creosote:

  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons including PAHs, alkylated PAHs, benzene, toluene, and xylene (PAHs can constitute up to 90% of creosote);
  • Phenolics including phenols, cresols, xylenols, and naphthols (1 to 3% of creosote);
  • Nitrogen-containing Heterocycles including pyridines, quinolines, acridines, indolines, carbazoles (1 to 3% of creosote);
  • Sulphur-containing Heterocycles including benzothiophenes (1 to 3% of creosote); and
  • Oxygen-containing Heterocycles including dibenzofurans (5 to 7.5% of creosote) (U.S. EPA, 1987).
  • “Pure” creosote is denser than water. For some wood preservation uses, creosote is mixed 1:1 with fuel oil.

* From: Creosote-impregnated Waste Materials – PSL1 Environment Canada and Health Canada http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/psl1-lsp1/creosote/index-eng.php Aug 26/09

  • Benzene, one of the many chemicals which make up creosote, causes cancer

The Canadian government has declared benzene a known cancer-causer.

From: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/radiation/98ehd-dhm216/management-gestion-eng.php#t3 Aug 27/09

  • PAHs in creosote are potential cancer-causers

Creosote contains several carcinogenic PAHs, including benz[a]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, and dibenz[a,h]anthracene. The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that these three PAHs are known animal carcinogens. The EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have determined they are probable human carcinogens. From www.beyondpesticides.org Aug 26/09

  • PAHs in creosote can leach into groundwater

A study of water soluble leachates from out-of-service railway ties found many PAHs and associated compounds.

From: Creosote-impregnated Waste Materials – PSL1 Environment Canada and Health Canada http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/psl1-lsp1/creosote/index-eng.php Aug 26/09

  • PAHs are persistent in the environment

Researchers studying creosote-contaminated sediments from the Elizabeth River in Virginia found that the PAH composition of creosote remaining in the sediments did not change over an 80-year period

(Bieri et al., 1986). From: Creosote-impregnated Waste Materials – PSL1 Environment Canada and Health Canada http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/contaminants/psl1-lsp1/creosote/index-eng.php Aug 26/09

A Toxic Waste Incinerator in Kamloops? No Thanks!


Was this technology was first tested in the lab just two months ago On June 2, 2009? the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) at the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks) began lab-testing the proposed incineration technology in a demonstration unit located inside the EERC’s National Center for Hydrogen Technology (NCHT) demonstration facility.
From: http://eponline.com/articles/2009/06/02/eerc-demos-clean-energy-from-used-railroad-ties.aspx Aug 26/09

  • Does ACC have any other projects like this to date?

Questions:

Who picks up the costs and cleans up the mess if the demonstration fails?

Does ACC carry adequate liability insurance in event of a chip pile fire, chip spill into the river, equipment malfunction (it is a pilot project, after all) or some other calamity?

  • ACC’s material supply is supposed to contain only creosote-treated waste ties

Question:

How can ACC guarantee that sources of waste wood are not treated with other chemical compounds besides creosote?

  • Incinerator facilities require a lot of water

Questions:

Will the City of Kamloops supply the water, or will ACC be applying for a permit to draw from the river?

Does the City of Kamloops have the capacity to supply so much water?

If the City of Kamloops is supplying the water, how will the company be charged?

Questions:

How many trucks per day would be carrying ash on this road?

What emergency protocols would be put in place to prevent or contain spills?

What other mitigation methods would be required in case of a spill?

Would ACC or the taxpayers be held liable for costs related to a spill?

  • A chip pile fire could have serious health and environmental effects

Weyerhaeuser experienced chip pile fires during its tenure in Kamloops. Therefore, there is a possibility, perhaps even a probability, that a creosote chip pile could also spontaneously combust or some other event resulting in a serious toxic fire.

Questions:

Does ACC have an emergency plan?

How does ACC plan to prevent chip pile combustion and other fires?

Do creosote-impregnated chips burn in the same way as untreated wood chips?

Has the Kamloops Fire Dept been consulted?

  • The City of Kamloops could face expensive liability issues if it takes ACC’s wastes

If the federal government declares creosote-impregnated waste materials to be toxic waste, the city could be liable for cleanup and mitigation if it allows ACC to dump its ash and quenching water in city facilities, and the landfill or sewage lagoons are found to be “dumping a deleterious substance into waters frequented by fish.”