From
www.pnm.org.tt
what a load of horse sheit
Author: The Sentinel
Article Posted on: October 31, 2006
The Smelter Row - A True Story
The proposed introduction in Trinidad of two Aluminium smelter plants has generated very fierce verbiage, most of which has been imaginary and vociferous to a point where the protagonists have become shrill and senseless in their hate, not so much of the idea, but of the government who has proposed the idea.
A lot of splenetic expressions have confounded and clouded the issue so much that some of the members of the Anti-Smelter lobby have even preached violence and other illegal activities. They have used questionable data to spin a web of lies and deception that even they are now believing their own propaganda. They say they are even linking up with an international march in London today (27th Oct.), which was a noted failure, in order to take their grievance onto the international stage.
That’s why I was so encouraged when I heard the calm words of Rodney Jaglal, the president of UWI Guild, who said that The Guild would take no action until they know the facts of the matter and inform their members. The detractors pitched camp outside UWI and hoped to influence the students, but like any institution of learning the students preferred to learn the pros and cons of the issue before making up their mind. They are presently in the process of gathering the information on which they would make an unbiased judgement after a fair and fearless debate in its hallowed halls of learning, and it is this process by these young people that bodes well for the future; they will not be hustled, bullied or pilloried into making a decision based on threats, violence or the din of the loudmouth.
The debate has now begun when Mr Wade Hughes, director of Public Strategy for Alcoa, joined in with an article in today’s Guardian describing Alcoa’s smelting activities around the world. I hope that UWI students would take these pieces of information into their deliberations to come to an informed and balanced decision.
The main concerns of aluminum smelting are pollution of the air, land and waterways which could lead to health problems if the pollutants are not addressed vigorously and tests are not done regularly. These areas of concern are:-
WATER POLUTION: Water effluent volumes from the plant can be minimised and/or eliminated by good designs and operating practices; reducing the water added to the process; segregation of condensates and recycling to the process; and use of rain water in the process. Therefore, there is no leakage of process water into our water supply systems to cause contamination and pollution. This is controlled by systems approved for use in the USA by their Environmental protection Agency (USA/EPA).
SPENT POT LINING (SPL): SPL is the solid hazardous waste produced in the smelting of aluminum from its ore by electrolysis. This waste is compacted in a cake and could be reused in the process. When it reaches at the end of its useful life it is removed and disposed into specially lined landfill sites. Alcoa has promised that these cakes (SPL) would not be buried here in Trinidad, but shipped to their purpose designed processing plant in Gum Springs, Arkansas to be disposed of and controlled by the USA/EPA.
AIR POLLUTION: At smelting plants the major source of dust emissions are the dryers and control is provided by either electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) or bag house dust collectors. Removal efficiencies of 99% are achievable. Dust from conveyors and material transfer points is controlled by hoods and enclosures. Dust from truck movements can be controlled by treating road surfaces and by ensuring that vehicles do not drop materials as they travel. Dust from stock piled materials can be minimised by the use of water sprays or by enclosure in a building.
Therefore, if one takes a cold, hard look at the process of smelting one can see that the areas of concern, as shown above, have been addressed by the USA/EPA who have laid down specific standards to follow, The American Council of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) who recommends Treshold Limit Values (TLVs) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) who recommends Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) for aluminum.
PROXIMITY: Another legitimate area of concern is that of having the smelter in a built up area and this is fair comment as Trinidad is a small country. Wade Hughes of Alcoa addresses this point by saying that smelters around the world like USA, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Europe are all close to their home communities and ranging in distances of literally across the road to a few miles. THERE IS NO INTERNATIONAL REQUIREMENT ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD TO HAVE A 100- MILE BUFFER ZONE AROUND A SMELTER PLANT.
HEALTH EFFECTS: Aluminum is not classed as an industrial poison, but if its dust enters your eyes it will cause irritation, like curry dust from our curry factory. It could cause skin rashes and upper respiratory irritation as any other irritating chemical, but due to the very effective filters and scrubbers approved by the agencies above these incidents are kept to a minimum. Any chemical in large, uncontrolled amounts will cause health problems, but we are taking a lot of trouble to ensure that this would never arise and accidents are kept to a minimum due to our tried and tested safety systems.
ECONOMIC DIVIDEND: When we produce aluminium in sheets and blocks, which are the most inert form of the material, we will maximise the economic benefits with our down stream products. This will create employment, bring in foreign exchange to our country and give us respect abroad in the manufacturing sector.
WHAT WE SHOULD DO: We as a people should form a body to monitor the operations of the two smelters instead of trying to be obstructionist in our activities.
We should MAKE SURE THAT THE SMELTING COMPANIES:-
• Give preference to the PREBAKE process for smelting.
• Use computers to control the bath and limit anode effects.
• Incinerate baking furnace gases for energy recovery, to save energy.
• Use DRY scrubber systems with aluminum oxide absorbant for control of emissions from reduction cells and from anode bake ovens. A WET system would lead to excess water effluent which could overwhelm our water courses.
• Maximize the reuse of spent pot lining (SPL).
• Dispose of SPL that cannot be reused, in our case, TAKE IT BACK TO THE USA AS PROMISED.
• Accept that processes for reusing salt slag are available and should be used in down stream manufacture.
• Ensure that there are regular perimeter sample tests by the Companies and the results made public for independent analysis.
• Allow this body access to the plants to conduct its own independent tests for the purpose of obtaining results to compare with those of the Companies.
• Agree to allow the monitoring body to install permanent perimeter sensors to detect any changes in air quality for smoke emissions, dust and particle content.
• Must have a fully maintained medical unit and an ambulance for emergencies.
The cost for monitoring these companies should be borne by the companies by way of a grant (say 1% US of profit) which must be included in the memorandum of agreement. There must be no interference by the government or the companies in the work of this body, which must function independently. The body should also be allowed to raise private finance by donation.
A harmonious arrangement like this could go a long way to removing all the hype and disinformation about the smelter which are presently making the rounds.
In the ideal world everything is perfect and predictable, but in the real world everything, including water, has a danger point to humans. We take measured and controlled risks to progress and move forward. It is in this context that the smelters should be viewed and, like the developed countries mentioned above, accept them as tools for our prosperity.
