Written by Mark Nielsen
Citizen staff
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Friday, 03 July 2009 |
Pittman Asphalt regional manager Jean Brunet stands by the plant injection system, which allows for cooler processing. (Citizen photo by David Mah)
"We are doing amazingly well on the asphalt complaint front so far this year," B.C. Environment official Maureen Bilawchuk said Thursday in providing the total. "The numbers are incredibly low compared to previous years."
By the end of last season, which generally runs from mid-May to the end of October, 58 complaints were received, while 175 were made in 2007 and 90 in 2006.
Both Pittman Asphalt and Columbia Bitulithic, located on Otway Road across the Nechako River from a residential area that has been vocal in its opposition to the way they've been doing business in the past, have taken significant steps to reduce their emissions.
Last year, Pittman spent over $1 million to replace a parallel flow asphalt-making drum with a counterflow so that the burner is located at the end opposite to where the aggregate is fed. The net effect is there is no contact with the flame and significantly fewer emissions are produced.
This season, Pittman added a special pump to inject a product that allows the asphalt to be made at 20 to 40 C colder than before, a so-called warm-mix asphalt process.
"Normally, you have to heat the oil so it becomes viscous enough to coat the aggregate and this allows it to do that at a lower temperature," said Todd Strynadka, who is providing technical advice to Pittman on the process.
Other measures have included reducing dust by covering the yard with recycled asphalt that turns into a hard surface as vehicles drive over it and using water and sweeping to get rid of fugitive dust.
Pittman, which reopened its plant in 2007 after a 10-year-hiatus, has also installed condensers to keep vapour from escaping the plant and a silencer on the burner to reduce noise and switching to electricity from diesel to reduce noise and emissions.
And the provincial government is allowing more recycled asphalt to be used in Pittman's paving projects.
There has been less mixing at the plant this season, PIttman regional manager Jean Brunet conceded, but when it's operating he said the result has been a noticeably cleaner and quieter work environment.
Relations with residents across the way have been less tense, Brunet also said.
"We had a meeting with the people across the river and Ministry of Environment and the city and it was quite positive for the first time, it was kind of pleasant to be at," Brunet said. "It wasn't just nasty comments, it was pleasant to be at and that was before we started this other part."
Columbia Bitulithic is also using a warm-mix asphalt process, but the batch tower was replaced with a continuous mixer that uses water rather than a chemical to lower the temperature, said operation manager Wayne Rommerdahl.
"We used a chemical last year and then we did this plant upgrade that came with this option," he said.
Past improvements at Columbia have also included roughly doubling the capacity of its bag house, which is used to capture the dust and other particulate matter that would otherwise fly into the air.
Since 2007, both plants have been subject to the same restrictions as those operating in the lower Fraser Valley. Operations are limited to emitting 90 milligrams per cubic metre of particulate, down from 120 under the old province-wide constraint, 200 mg/m3 of carbon monoxide, a 50-per-cent reduction and 60 mg/m3 of volatile organic compounds, a 50-per-cent reduction.
They've been meeting and exceeding those standards, Bilawchuk said.
North Nechako resident Jim Burbee said he doesn't want to discount the measures the plants have taken but also noted they're not as busy as they were in previous years.
"They have done improvements, I would discredit that, but what they'll do for us in a busy year, I'm still not sure," he said.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 July 2009 )
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