Thank you for providing…

Thank you for providing Public Health Sudbury & Districts with an opportunity to provide input and comments on the draft Proposed Regulation for the Nickel Smelting and Refining Industry (ERO number 019-1107). Public Health Sudbury & Districts supports initiatives to decrease potential public health risks associated with industries such as mining and smelting and would appreciate that the following comments be taken into consideration:

General

O. Reg. 419/05 air standards are intended to be protective of human health. Currently, if an industrial site cannot meet the legislated requirement, a Site-Specific Standard is applied for with the expectation of continual improvement to eventually meet the provincial standard. Based on the proposed regulation, once the technological requirements are met, there is no impetus or requirement for the industry to continue to reduce SO2 emissions in the short or long term, despite the reporting level being three times the POI Standard which is based on health risk. Public Health Sudbury & Districts strongly recommends that a report be made to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks at regular intervals that includes reports on the success of the existing control technology, international benchmarking and how the companies intend to lower their existing emissions to strive to reach the O. Reg. 419/05 POI limit.

Public Health Sudbury & Districts recommends that the proposed Regulation for Sudbury Area Nickel Smelters and Nickel Refineries have a regular review cycle to re-evaluate technical or economic considerations, new sources, facility production or process changes, changes to the nearby built or natural environment and available environmental monitoring reports or science. These reviews would allow the effectiveness of the regulation to be assessed and would inform availability and appropriateness of new technologies to decrease emissions, thereby lessening the impact on the local environment and the public’s health.

Consider a requirement that the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks produce a publicly accessible report on local air quality impacts at the multi-source monitoring locations that addresses the following:

Specific locations where human exposure to contaminants is likely, such as schools, daycare facilities, hospitals and residences,

Frequency, magnitude and duration of exposures above the proposed 120 ppm limit and the Regulation 419 upper risk thresholds, analysis of human health risk and impacts.

The proposed legislation does not include modelling to indicate impacts to sensitive populations (schools, hospitals, long term care facilities). Public Health Sudbury & Districts recommends that modelling be completed over an appropriate review cycle to determine efficacy of upgrades, potential impacts on local populations, and optimal placement of monitors.

Related to improving public accessibility of monitoring data and the interpretation of associated health risks, Public Health Sudbury & Districts suggests that the website displaying monitored SO2 levels be improved in the following ways:

Data should be presented in real time, with the ability to view the rolling 5-minute and 1-hour average concentrations.

Concentration data history should be stored and accessible for a period of 10 years.
Monitored concentrations should be related to health risk with the potential impact noted similar to the AQHI.

Website format and content should be user-friendly and understandable to the general public.

New Regulation to Help Manage Sulphur Dioxide Emissions from The Sudbury Area Nickel Smelting and Refining Industry

Under the Exemption section it states the facility is exempt from the Upper Risk Threshold of 240ppb/690ug/m3 and must track exceedances of 120ppb/314ug/m3 1-hour average and report these annually. Public Health Sudbury & Districts recommends in addition to the 120ppb annual reporting that the facilities should not be exempt to Upper Risk Threshold reporting requirements and should report exceedances of the URT within the time frame of O. Reg. 419/05.

Detailed Description of Technical Requirements for Sudbury Area Nickel Smelters and Nickel Refineries.

Public Health Sudbury & Districts recommends that the pyrometallurgical vessels outlined in subsection 3(8) be treated similarly as those in 3(9) where a 5-year time frame is given to tie the emissions to an acid plant or a lime injected baghouse or wet scrubber.

Subsection 6, (5) excludes slag pouring for emission reduction. Public Health Sudbury & Districts recommends that procedures be examined and evaluated and where practical implemented that would reduce the point of impingement levels within the community.

Section 7 outlines that an annual report be produced for three of the 18 community monitors by each facility. Public Health Sudbury & Districts suggests that the annual report include the data from all 18 monitors, not just three.

If you have any questions with these comments please contact Burgess Hawkins, Manager, Health Protection Division at 705.522.9200, ext. 218.