Open Letter to the Editor re: Co-Location Study


Further to Bob Mihell’s articles of April 21st and 28th in Sault This Week on the topic of the Ministry of Environment’s (MOE) Co-Location Study, we feel it necessary to formally respond.

To begin, the headline “Essar reporting exceedances for carcinogens” is not only inflammatory, but factually incorrect. Contrary to Sault This Week’s claim that the MOE’s Co-Location report shows Essar in violation of provincial limits for benzene and benzo(a)pyrene, let me be clear - Essar Steel Algoma is not in violation of any provincial limits for benzene or benzo-a-pyrene. In fact, there are no regulated limits or standards for benzene or benzo(a)pyrene in Ontario, only recommended guidelines. In the absence of an established regulatory standard, Essar has been proactively working in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment to set site specific performance standards and we continue to strive towards reducing emission levels as technology becomes available. Essar has plans in place to address emissions from our Cokemaking operations and will share these at our upcoming Community Open House this month.

Furthermore, Essar does not operate the air monitoring stations situated around our property. A third party consultant does. Nor do we analyse the results. An MOE approved accredited laboratory performs the analysis and does so in accordance with MOE specified protocols.

The Co-Location Study’s only conclusion is that the results of the study are inconclusive, and I quote, “No consistent trend was found for the inter-laboratory comparison study …It’s hard to draw a conclusion from the preliminary results on the inter-laboratory comparison study at this stage. The reason of consistent lower values reported by CRA than those by MOE remains unexplained.” In short, the 21 page report concludes that the analysis generated by the MOE’s lab does not match the set of results produced by the MOE approved lab.

We find this discrepancy disconcerting and the team at Essar Steel Algoma needs to know the reasons behind the discrepancies. To this end, we have already initiated inquires with the labs in question. It is important that we have accurate, quality data with which to manage our operation, and minimize its impact on the environment.
At the end of the day, what matters most to us is what is in the air and the soil and how best to manage our operations to minimize emissions while making steel and generating economic value for our owners, our employees and our community. Essar Steel Algoma has launched an aggressive campaign to reduce emissions and we continue to achieve aggressive targets in this regard. Over the past five years, Essar has invested $200M towards environmental improvements and a further $75M has been committed for additional environmental initiatives. In light of these significant gains and demonstrated commitment, we need to ensure the above clarifications are communicated to the public. Failure to do so would be irresponsible and counterproductive.
The team at Essar recognizes there is more that can and will be done. We live in this community too and we raise our families here. We are committed to advancing a continued positive approach to environmental stewardship.

Respectfully,

Jerry Suurna
General Manager, Safety, Environment and Emergency Services