Coffee roasting emits dangerous compounds

I would like the City of Edmonton to take a serious look at coffee roasting happening in residential neighbourhoods. Drinking freshly brewed coffee is a treat and I am a strong supporter of small business.

Roasting coffee emits dangerous hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds ( VOCs) linked to disease. Edmonton has no bylaws in place for coffee roasting.

Recently, a roaster has opened in our neighbourhood. We wish the business well but our concern is the health of the neighbourhood. When roasting, an acrid smell containing dangerous emissions is emitted. There are tools that can be used to avoid the emissions called incinerators and VOC scrubbers.

The city needs to create a bylaw as others have done that will protect neighbourhoods from dangerous emissions and give direction to coffee roasters. Deborah Anzinger, Edmonton