|
Funding
Allows Extension of Stack Watch Program
Environment
Hamilton’s Stack Watch program has received a small
grant from the North American Fund for Environmental
Cooperation (NAFEC). NAFEC is associated with the Commission
for Environmental Cooperation, the entity that serves
as the ombudsperson when it comes to environmental issues
and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Environment Hamilton’s Stack Watch program involves
quite literally what its name implies; watching the
city’s industrial stacks and reporting any problems
with visible emissions to our air. As a general rule
of thumb, if an emission from an industrial stack shows
visible signs of discolouration then it is quite likely
violating provincially allowable opacity or clarity
levels.
The discharge could be black, brown,
orangy-red, or other colours depending
on the stack you are looking at. When
a visible emission is observed, it is worth
logging a formal complaint with the
Ontario Ministry of the Environment.
The NAFEC grant will enable Environment Hamilton to
follow up on a pilot project launched in the Hamilton
Beach Community last year. In September of last year,
stack keys were distributed to every household on the
Beach Strip. Stack keys are panoramic shots of the industrial
skyline that include labelling of all active industrial
stacks. Now we will be able to visit residents to ensure
that they still have a key and to answer any questions
they might have about using the keys.
Stack key workshops will also be held, as will a special
workshop to open the lines of communication between
local air quality researchers including Dr. Jim Quinn,
and Beach Strip residents. Dr. Quinn’s latest findings
made international news when he linked the inhalation
of industrial air with the emergence of genetic mutations
in mice that that were passed along to offspring.
For more
information about Stack Watch, visit the EH website
where you will find our stack keys.
A
PERSONAL STORY
As a seasoned
stack watcher, I like to share my story about why Environment
Hamilton’s Stack Watch program is so important.
Several years ago, a Ministry of the Environment representative
told me that the Hamilton District office receives very
few complaints from area residents about visible emissions
from the industrial core. My first reaction was shock
as I speak to so many people who are concerned about
what they see discharging from our industrial core.
But then I recalled the experience I had the first time
I called the Ministry to report my concerns about visible
industrial emissions. It was many years ago at a time
when I was just starting to pay attention to Hamilton’s
industrial stacks.
The day I called there were several
stacks discharging heavy, black smoke into our air.
I phoned the Ministry of the Environment to express
my concerns.
The person on the other end of the line
asked the usual series of questions. What time did I
notice the problem? How long did it last? Which facility
was the discharge coming from? And, ideally, which part
of the plant is the stack located in?
This is where
I faltered. I didn’t know which facility the stack
belonged to, never mind which part of the plant the
stack was a part of!
This left the person on the other
end of the phone unable to log any mean-ingful complaint
from me. And it left me feeling frustrated about a problem
that I knew existed, but that I was unable to report
in an effective manner.
Many years later, a discussion with a
Ministry of the Environment abatement
officer helped to spark the idea for Stack
Watch. He shared some photos he had
labelled, to help him to keep track of
industrial stacks. We decided to do the
same and provide these ‘keys’ to the
public for use.
Lynda Lukasik
|
