{"id":4182,"date":"2016-03-06T13:29:23","date_gmt":"2016-03-06T18:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=4182"},"modified":"2017-11-19T20:59:06","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T01:59:06","slug":"air-pollution-almost-doubles-in-animal-food-manufacturing-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=4182","title":{"rendered":"Air pollution almost doubles in animal food manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Feed<\/a>
Feed Mills like this one in Lethbridge Alberta are the source of particulate matter releases, which have almost doubled in the Animal Food Manufacturing industry since 2014. (Credit: Hi Pro Feeds)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Air pollution emissions from Canada\u2019s Animal Food Manufacturing industry have increased 92 per cent since 2011 according to Environment and Climate Change Canada\u2019s Reported Pollution Data.<\/p>\n

In 2014, Environment and Climate Change Canada reported that 38 facilities were producing 1,917 tonnes of air emissions, a jump from the 2011 reports that record just 996 tonnes of air pollution across 36 facilities, almost a quarter of which are found in Alberta.<\/p>\n

An almost doubling in emissions signifies a boom in the industry, which serves North American livestock and agriculture markets.<\/p>\n

The major pollutant is particulate matter, the form of air pollution most associated with health risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cFine particulate matter is a real mix of different components,\u201d said Kim Perotta, the Executive Director of CAPE, the Canadian Association of Physician\u2019s for the Environment.<\/p>\n

She added that particulate matter is linked to \u201cincreases in rates of heart disease, acute health impacts around lung disease, and increased in rates of lung cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue of particulate matter emissions are evident to Holly Nicoll, Director of Marketing at Hi Pro Feeds, an Alberta based animal food manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Up until last year, the Hi Pro mill in Olds, Alberta was producing a significant amount of particulate matter pollution, in this case dust. But in 2015 improvements were made.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be there for the day and I\u2019d get in my car and there would be grain dust on my windshield,\u201d said Nicoll.<\/p>\n

In 2014 alone, the Olds location released 292 tonnes of particulate matter into the air, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The emissions were primarily releases from pressurized equipment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went about doing some upgrades, putting in filters and screens to reduce any dust coming out of the mill,\u201d said Nicoll.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I can go there and there\u2019s no such thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Air pollution and emissions targets are handled on the provincial level, and legislation has shown clear improvements, said Perotta.<\/p>\n

In September of 2015, Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said the province is on track to have the worst air quality in Canada unless immediate action is taken. Phillips plan has focused primarily on the oil industry and coal-fired power plants in the province.<\/p>\n

“The time to act is long overdue,\u201d she said at a press conference.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something Nicoll and Hi Pro has recognized.<\/p>\n

\"Air<\/a>
Air Pollution outside of Edmonton’s Sherwood Park neighbourhood (Credit: Wolfgang Schlegl <\/a>via flickr)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all part of the equation in terms of being responsible in the industry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But the business has grown, and expansion is positive for the economy and for efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be as efficient as possible and in doing that I think the efficiencies that we\u2019re creating in the business are actually helping in terms of emissions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But environmental sustainability is one issue, and there are many priorities the industry has to manage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest challenge that we\u2019re facing right now is government regulations, and more importantly food safety,\u201d said Nicoll.<\/p>\n

Perotta says that government regulations make a difference, and when it comes to controlling pollution and air emissions those regulations are a powerful tool.<\/p>\n

She attributes much of the improvement seen today in provinces like Ontario to legislation action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen a response to changes in regulations that have required changes in technology, and have resulted in improvements in air quality,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But until those same kinds of regulations are established in Alberta, what it comes down to is efficiency.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe industry is expanding,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to feed the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Air pollution emissions from Canada\u2019s Animal Food Manufacturing industry have increased 92 per cent since 2011 according to Environment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4182"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4570,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4182\/revisions\/4570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}