Community
Health Opposition to Known
Emissions Dangers
(CHOKED)
Started January 6, 2000
By concerned citizens
of the Bulkley Valley
We hold meetings and
public outreach that have brought together over 130 people in the community
including members of the Physicians Environmental Concerns Committee (PECC),
the Ministry of the Environment and the community public health professionals.
To find out more or
become part of CHOKED please call (250) 847 4469
TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY
AT LARGE ABOUT THE HEALTH RISKS OF AIR POLLUTION IN THE AREA.
We believe that if people
are better informed they will be better able to work towards the changes
that need to be implemented to ensure better air quality.
1. Communicate
the health effects of particulates.
2. Inventory
and rank the sources of particulate pollution and their impact.
3. Assess
regulatory options and support the option likeliest to improve public health
protection.
4. Monitor
and publicize compliance with permits and operating directives.
5. Train
the air watch volunteers to observe – record – report.
6. Generate
a regular community pollution report card.
7. Publicize
a polluters list.
8. Lobby
legislators for more effective regulation.
What are particulates?
Respirable Particulate Matter (PM) is a family of airborn particles from
a range of sources including burning of fossil fuels, forest fires, wood
smoke and industrial sources such as beehive burners. Respirable particulate
matter less than or equal to 10 microns have been declared toxic by the
federal government.
Cold Air Inversions
In the winter months
the sun is low in the sky and the hours of sunlight in the valley bottoms
are very short. This results in a layer of dense cold air filling the valley
bottom. Smoke discharged in these times is trapped in this dense layer
(the mixing layer) and is very concentrated – it has nowhere to go. The
consequence is an abrupt rise in the particulate concentration, often to
dangerous levels. At times like this BC Environment’s Regional Waste Manager
for the Skeena area may order a burner shutdown to protect public health.
Because of its small
size, PM 10 can penetrate deep into human lungs, where it becomes trapped.
It has been linked with
chronic respiratory disease and a range of other health ailments including
cardiovascular disease.
There is no safe level
of exposure to PM 10, and even relatively low levels can lead to premature
deaths from cardiovascular causes.
Children, the elderly
and people with respiratory diseases are particularly vulnerable.
Doctors in the Bulkley
Valley have reported that there is a definite correlation between outpatient
visits to the emergency ward at the hospital and low air quality.
David Anderson, federal
Minister of Environment says that in Toronto his staff estimate four thousand
people die each year from particulate inhalation.
A 1993 study for the
BC Provincial Health Officer has found that exposure to fine particulates
in wood smoke may be causing substantial illness in areas of B.C.
Wood Smoke also contains:
Acrolein, Formaldehyde, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides, Volatile Organic
Compounds, Dioxins and Furans, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons … which
cause a variety of health risks ranging from minor headaches to respiratory
illness and even cancer risks.
Did you know that
asthma robs one in ten Canadian adults- and twice as many children- of
the ability to breathe freely? www.asthma.ca
Beehive Burners: Beehive burners
have been operating in the Bulkley Valley (BV) since 1970 and each one
of these burners was created as a temporary solution to wood residue management.
Regulatory efforts and research done by the BV sawmills have been ineffective
in finding other lasting solutions. Since these are the largest contributors
of air pollution, they are the first focus of our efforts.
Panelboard Plants: The panelboard manufacturing
process generates VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which contain known
carcinogens and particulate emissions. The inversion process traps this
stuff too.
Diesel fuel: Diesel exhaust is
a complex toxic mix contributed to our environment by mobile
sources such as trucks, buses, and trains. Diesel exhaust contains hundreds
of constituent chemicals, dozens of which are recognized human toxicants,
carcinogens, reproductive hazards, or endocrine disruptors.
Slash pile, backyard,
and grass burning: Recent regulatory
changes now require that all slash piles – even those of ten cubic metres
and less, require permission to burn. This is a belated recognition of
their contribution to air pollution.
Wood Stoves: Inefficient stoves
damped down on cold, clear, calm winter nights—the very time when the atmosphere’s
capacity to disperse emissions is at a minimum.
Gravel roads and
dust: Suspendable particles
are not transportable particles. Around 75% of these particulates remain
within 1 to 2 metres above ground level and within a few metres of the
roadside.
In the early 90s,
BC Environment, concerned about air pollution, commissioned a study by
Dr. Sverre Vedal, a noted respiratory researcher, to assess what kinds
of air pollution were most harmful. Dr. Vedal’s efforts resulted in the
publication of
Health Effects of Inhalable Particles: Implications for British Columbia.
He concluded that particulate matter presented the greatest threat
to human health, killing an estimated 80 to 100 British Columbians every
year.
March 1993 Tier 1 burner
operators in Skeena were advised by letter from Regional Waste Manager
of Dec. 31/95 phase-out date.
January 1994 these permits
were amended to say the same....appealed.
December 1995 the Regulation
was brought in by cabinet - Tier1 BB phase-out by Dec. 31/97
December 1997 Regulation
amended > phase-out by Dec. 31/1998
December 1998 Regulation
amended > phase-out by Dec. 31/2000
July 2000 Regulation
amended > phase-out by Dec. 31/2003
Co-generation - Chips,
sawdust and shavings are used to create heat and electricity for power.
Wood Pellets, Firelogs
- Wood chips, bark and sawdust are used in their production.
Essential Oils and Cedar
Oil - Oil can be extracted by steam distillation and used for health care,
aromatherapy, pet supplies, cosmetics, perfumes, cleaning products.
Absorbents, Oil Pollution
Control, Filters - wood waste used on chemical spills, as sewage filtration
and soil erosion mats.
Wood Flour - a finely
ground powder made from scrap wood and uses include: adhesives, ceramics,
foundry castings, sealants, caulking, etc.
Charcoal and related
products - this smokeless energy source can be used as a cooking fuel,
a heating source, a medicinal product.
Pet Accessories - pet
bedding, pet pillows, pet mattresses made with wood shavings, chips and
sawdust.
3) Become part of
CHOKED!
You can contribute your
ideas and help improve air quality in our community by joining forces with
other concerned citizens.
Please call Gina
at 847-4469 for more information.
sources such as trucks, buses, and trains. Diesel exhaust contains hundreds
of constituent chemicals, dozens of which are recognized human toxicants,
carcinogens, reproductive hazards, or endocrine disruptors.
