Author: Kirsten Mason

A Toxic Waste Incinerator 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 incinerator to burn CP Rail’s creosote ties. ACC wants Kamloops city council to allow it to dump incinerator ash and waste water 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 burning 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 Save Kamloops events. To find out more about what’s going on, please go to www.savekamloops.ca or email [email protected].

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.