Letters to the Minister of the Environment on Site selection and the already polluted airshed at the Courtice site

To send a short pre-written letter re: Pre-Existing Poor Air Quality - Please click here!

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As a resident of Durham, I have often seen the dark haze that settles and remains over the town and surrounding area for long periods of time, resulting from emissions from St Mary's Cement, blasting from St. Mary's Cement and quite probably, the American coal fired plant located directly across the lake from us in New York State. I believe a significant factor for this lingering haze is a direct result of the topography (our location south of the Ridge)  and prevailing winds in the area which restricts the movement of air at various altitudes, therefore not allowing the contaminated air to be exchanged. If you live in the area, you will know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, you should be asking a lot of questions.

It is also a matter of public record that Durham Region already has one of the highest per-capita rates of individuals suffering from asthma and other respiratory problems. Adding an incinerator to this specific area will only significantly increase the atmospheric discharge.

Add to this the fact that both Courtice's and Bowmanville's official plans call for increased housing expansion in 2010 and beyond, the problem with air quality will affect significantly more people as the population explodes, putting a lot more individuals and their families at risk.

The EA for the Incinerator proposed for Durham Region relies on the inexact science of risk assessment which cannot adequately assess, or assess at all, some of the major concerns and risks of incineration.

Risk assessment does not:

• adequately or accurately determine the risk associated with toxic ultrafine particulates (nanoparticles). Studies consistently demonstrate links between particulate exposure and adverse health outcomes. Ultrafine particulates, however, are not regulated and risk assessment cannot accurately evaluate their risk. Furthermore, incinerators emit significant quantities of heavy metals and other toxins which can adsorb onto particulates, further increasing toxicity.
• adequately assess for chemical mixtures such as the additive effects of all the respiratory irritants emitted together by incinerators. The EA study itself states that "This is a considerable source of uncertainty in any risk assessment in Ontario".
• assess at all, many of the hundreds of pollutants emitted by incinerators, which due to their unknown emission factors and toxicity, cannot be assessed.
• adequately assess for synergistic effects - i.e. how the many pollutants emitted could react with each other and how those reactions could create other chemicals with potentially more toxic effects.

Citizens brought attention to Tables 3.7 and 3.9 which they had found in Annex A of the Step 7 Site Selection Report which clearly showed that the Industrial Emissions were far greater (for some pollutants, they were hundreds of times greater) at the Courtice 01 site than the early alternate site in East Gwillimbury site in York.

At no time in the consultation process had the consultants brought forward these marked differences in pollution burden between these sites in public meetings, nor in presentations to Durham Regional Council nor to Joint Waste Management Group.  The Executive Summary and study conclusions did not discuss the marked differences in industrial air burden.