Study will probe health impacts of LNG facilities
Squamish, the outdoor enclave nestled between Vancouver and Whistler, is on its way to becoming the second community in Canada to be on the front lines of a liquefied fossil fuel natural gas (LNG) export facility. And for residents in that town and neighbouring Britannia Beach, it's important to know the extent of air pollution from flaring at the US$5.1-billion Woodfibre LNG facility, and whether projections have been underestimated.
Flaring is the practice of burning off excess hydrocarbons that accrue during LNG production, maintenance and emergencies. LNG is a relatively new fossil fuel for Canada after years of gas production and distribution without liquefaction. By converting fracked gas into its liquid form, it can be exported at sea on tankers. In the importing country, it is burned as a source of gas.
B.C.'s first LNG export facility, located in Kitimat, plans to begin its startup operations this year. This phase will last for more than a year, and is projected to include months of visible, elevated and frequent flaring.
Studies on the health impacts of flaring are mainly retrospective, decades old, from jurisdictions outside of Canada and fail to include flaring during LNG facilities' startup years. However, they show there are associations between flaring and negative health effects on surrounding populations.
From a public health perspective, the best way to estimate the health impact of flaring at LNG facilities is by using real-life data from terminals that have recently entered into operations, with the understanding they will inform effective prevention and intervention measures to protect front-line communities like Squamish and Kitimat.
This month, a collaboration of scientists from University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, University of Toronto and Texas A&M University, alongside Vancouver Coastal Health and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, are embarking on the first-ever Canadian study to evaluate the potential human health impacts of flaring from an LNG export facility that is not yet built nor operational — and that facility is in Squamish.
We'll be using satellite data from existing LNG export facilities around the world to gather current and independent data on flaring volumes, leading to the creation of new and realistic flaring scenarios, from best-to-worst case. We'll compare these air pollution metrics to the estimates submitted by Woodfibre LNG in 2014, when it received its provincial environmental permit.
Public health is about safeguarding community health — and a lot has transpired since 2014, including a global climate emergency, and evidence that pollution associated with fossil fuel projects tends to be higher than proponents' estimates. Most recently, this rang true in Alberta's oilsands, where scientists found that industry measurements are under-reporting air pollution by 1,900 to 6,300 per cent.
By modelling the problem as accurately as possible, we'll be able to determine the risk factors and translate flaring exposure scenarios into projected potential impacts on community health, such as the potential number of premature deaths, mortality from long-term exposure, asthma symptom days, and estimates of the societal costs of avoiding adverse health effects.
The 8,000 residents in Squamish and Britannia Beach who live within 10 kilometres of Woodfibre LNG deserve to know this information, as Kitimat residents who live in proximity to LNG Canada should also have been informed.
The findings of our emerging study will be applicable to any possible future LNG export facility. And the study is coming on the heels of the United States — the world's largest exporter of LNG — pausing approvals on new LNG terminals to protect front-line communities “who disproportionately shoulder the burden of pollution from new export facilities.”
Regulators need emissions projections and measurements that are independent from the industry that profits from the production of these air pollutants. Presently, the climate change effects and full human health and planetary impacts of new fossil energy projects are largely underestimated. But soon we'll know more and we can start making more informed decisions when it comes to LNG projects.
Laura Minet leads the University of Victoria's Clean Air Lab and is the lead researcher on Canada's first study to evaluate the health impacts of flaring from a proposed fossil fuel LNG export facility in B.C. The study is co-funded by the federal government's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Tim Takaro is an expert on toxicology and public health, a professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University's Faculty of Health Sciences, and a B.C. member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.