Though Port Metro Vancouver is expected to release its final decision about the Fraser Surrey Docks next month, there is little doubt that the proposal will be approved. An estimated four million tonnes per year of thermal coal will soon be coming up from the US. Will the Fraser Surrey Docks Expansion Bring Aerosolized Coal Dust?
Will the Fraser Surrey Docks Expansion Bring Aerosolized Coal Dust?
A study from Washington state suggests the answer is yes. Dr Daniel A Jaffe and his associates recently studied emissions from more than 450 trains, as well as the black carbon left by 84 that carried coal. They published their findings in a paper called “Diesel particulate matter emission factors and air quality implications from in–service rail in Washington State, USA”
Jaffe and his colleagues studied the emission left by more than 450 trains, as well as the black carbon left by 84 that carried coal.
Cliff Mass was present when Jaffe’s team performed a measurement on the bridge at Richmond Beach Park, WA, when a coal train passed on August 30, 2014. First they recorded “a minor peak in TSP (the total amount of particulate matter in a cubic meter of air) with the engine, but a minute or two later there was a HUGE sustained peak that was probably due to coal dust. PM1 also went up with the engine and in its wake, and the difference between TSP and PM1 jumped big time–a clear indicator of large particles (i.e., coal dust). Keep in mind, these long coal trains can take several minutes to pass a point.” (Please click on this link and examine the graphs, http://cliffmass.blogspot.ca/2014/03/are-coal-trains-degrading-air-we-breath.html?m=1 )
Dr Jaffe and his colleagues wrote that living close to rail lines “significantly increases” exposure to particulate mater. A 50% increase of rail traffic in the Seattle area, ‘may put these residents over the new US National National Ambient Air Quality Standards.”
“Our results also show that after passage of coal trains there was a statistically significant enhancement in larger particles, compared to other train types. These larger particles most likely consist of aerosolized coal dust.”
People Living Beside Fraser Surrey Docks
Aerial View of Surrey Fraser Docks, Courtesy Google Maps
If the Fraser Surrey Docks proposal goes forward, as is expected, people living beside the facility will be breathing in some of those particles.
In their environmental assessment, SNC Lavalin, wrote, “Coal dust has been studied for decades in miners with high daily exposures to coal dust, and although these studies confirm that prolonged and high exposure levels to coal dust over many, many years can lead to serious adverse health outcomes, exposure to coal dust associated with the Project bears no similarity to the exposure conditions and risks known to be linked to serious adverse health outcomes in miners.”
BC’s Chief Medical Health Officers
BC’s chief medical health officers Dr. Patricia Daly and Dr. Paul Van Buynder, claimed this report is “primarily a repackaging of work previously done by other consultants” that does not “deal with the full scope of the project” or “meet even the most basic requirements of a health impact assessment.”
Port Metro Vancouver has resolved this matter by asking Fraser Surrey Docks to prepare a health impact assessment, which the province’s medical officers will not have access to. It will be prepared by SNC Lavalin, whose original environmental assessment stated the proposal would “not likely cause significant adverse effects to the environment or human health.”
(Photo at top of page: BOBRN class Hopper cars Freight rakes at Samalkot Junction (India) – Adityamadhav, cc by 3.0, en wikipedia)