The public commenting period is now closed on a proposal that would allow the Owens Corning plant in Guelph to temporary be excused from meeting new provincial discharge limits.
In March 2015, the fiberglass manufacturer on York Road submitted a formal request to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to obtain what is called a site-specific standard in regards to the amount of hexavalent chromium it’s allowed to release into the air.
The Guelph plant is currently meeting air quality standards set out by the province, but those targets are set to change on July 1, 2016. If their request for a site-specific standard is approved, Owens Corning will be able to continue operations, working outside of new air quality standards, for a period of 10 years. Specifically, the plant would temporarily be permitted to discharge a higher amount of hexavalent chromium than the new provincial guidelines allow.
Hexavalent chromium is a metallic particulate produced in the manufacturing process at the plant. It has no smell and has been identified as a toxic substance by Environment and Climate Change Canada for its potentially harmful effects on human health and the environment. The compound may also sound familiar to those who have seen the movie Erin Brockovich – hexavalent chromium was the focus of the biographical film made in 2000.
The new air quality standards were first introduced by the province in 2011 and are to come into effect in July. As part of the ministry’s process, the company’s request for temporary exemption was subject to a 60-day public review and comment period that began on Dec. 3 2015 and finished on Feb. 1 2016.
Bruce Gillies, an air pollution control engineer with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, said more than 200 people submitted comments during the 60-day window.
“The ministry will compile and review the comments and assess the public input before making a decision,” he said in an interview.
The company has presented an action plan to the ministry illustrating the steps it will take to reduce emissions as much as possible, Gillies said. The action plan is anticipated to result in an 88 per cent reduction in the amount of hexavalent chromium discharged.
The plan is centred on the installation of a new glass-melting furnace later this summer, a $10-million investment by the company. Currently, the plant at 247 York Road produces two main fibreglass products: chopped strand mat and continuous filament mat. When the new furnace is built, the company will move its chopped strand mat production line to Tlaxcala, Mexico.
The move will bring layoffs to nearly two thirds of employees at the Guelph plant. Owens Corning spokesperson, Amanda Meehan, said as of the end of January, there were 188 people employed at the Guelph plant. When the production line moves to Mexico, this workforce will be cut to 70.
With the public commenting period now complete, Meehan said all the company can do is wait on the ministry to make its decision. She said she wasn’t able to comment on whether or not the employees facing layoffs will be presented with some sort of severance package.
The actual quantity of hexavalent chromium released into the air at the Guelph plant is measured on a very small scale. According to the ministry, the annual average level discharged at the Guelph plant is 0.0208 micrograms per cubic metre. As of July 1, the new air standards demand the annual average be no more than 0.00014 micrograms per cubic metre released.
The ministry said it should be possible for Owens Corning to achieve a maximum annual average of 0.0024 micrograms per cubic metre with the proposed action plan.
Gillies said the new guidelines put forward by the ministry reflect new research into the health effects associated with hexavalent chromium. He said there is no specific time frame by which the ministry has to make its decision.
