ArcelorMittal Dofasco held an open house Tuesday to explain its $135-million plans to curb toxic emissions at its north Hamilton plant. But local environmentalists say the upgrades are taking too long.
The steelmaker is asking the Ontario Ministry of Environment for a five year extension to the special rules that allow it to operate without meeting stricter provincial emission standards while it makes the millions worth of upgrades. Holding a public meeting to outline the plans is part of the process of getting that permission.
Its plans include closing one of its three coke ovens next spring and using coke transported from Pennsylvania — a move it says will drastically cut emissions.
But Lynda Lukasik, executive director of Environment Hamilton, says the plan isn't enough. The company was supposed to meet Ministry of Environment emissions standards by 2010.
Now it's asking for five more years of permission to not meet them, Lukasik said, and it's all taking too long. The company is also seeking an alternate plan for benzene and benzo(a)pyrene because it has only has two more years to curb those emissions and can't meet that target either.
'There's going to be a significant reduction.'- Jim Stirling, ArcelorMittal Dofasco
"I worry people are going to walk away tonight and think, 'Oh great, they've made all this progress and everything's fine,'" she said. "But it's a very different story, and let's be honest about that."
The province enacted new emissions standards known as Ontario Regulation 419 in 2005. ArcelorMittal Dofasco knew ahead of time it couldn't meet them, said Jim Stirling, general manager environment.
Instead, the company worked with the province on an alternative plan known as site-specific standards when it comes to total reduced sulfur and total suspended particulates. The company has met those targets.
The site-specific standards expire in February 2015. Now the steel giant will apply in October to renew them. It also needs site-specific standards for benzene and benzo(a)pyrene because it can't meet the province's 2016 emissions targets for those chemicals.
The largest part of the plan, Stirling said, is closing the aging #1 coke oven, due on March 31, and trucking coke — a key ingredient in making steel — from a coke-producing site in Pennsylvania.
Coke oven work will make a difference, Dofasco says
The remaining ovens — #2 and #3 — are being upgraded at a cost of $87 million. That should reduce benzene and benzo(a)pyrene emissions by 40 per cent, Stirling said.
'The community here is rooted in the steel industry and they're proud of it. But they should demand more from this company because they make millions.'- Kat Bezner
"Coke making is probably our most impactful process," he said.
The company is making $700 million in facility upgrades from 2011 to 2016. It's "committed to continuous improvement in every aspect of its operations," it said in an email Tuesday.
Once the coke oven work is done, Stirling said, Hamiltonians will see a marked difference in the level of emissions.
"There's going to be a significant reduction."
Kat Bezner is still worried. She lives in Delta West and says she has days when she can't go outside because of poor odours and air quality.
'They should demand more,' resident says
She attended Tuesday's meeting at the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club because she wants to see emissions cut immediately. She also thinks it's taking too long.
"I just wanted to know why they were applying for an excuse," she said. "I hope they don't get this extension."
"The community here is rooted in the steel industry and they're proud of it. But they should demand more from this company because they make millions."
In May, ArcelorMittal Dofasco pleaded guilty to a series of environmental charges for air quality violations. It fined the company $390,000 plus victim fine surcharges of $97,500.
The company employs 5,400 people locally. Thirty-five people attended Tuesday's meeting.
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