A new sulfur dioxide plant in the city's east end will be of little danger to the public, according to a company spokesman who appeared at city hall on Monday evening.
Lee Smith, an Engineering and Technology Manager with the Port Neches, Texas based Calabrian Corporation, spoke to council about the company's intentions.
"We may be new to you guys, we may be new to Canada, but the company has been in business since 1968. We're very much into what we're doing, and have a lot of experience with it," he said.
Calabrian is North America's sole producer of sodium metabisulphate, as well as the continent's largest 'own-purpose' producer of Sulfur Dioxide. This has major interest to the region's mining and pulp and paper industries.
It is a vital component to altering cyanide, which is used to leech gold from ore, to a safe state before its placement in tailings facilities.
'SO2 Clean' is what Smith called a 'proprietary process' for producing sulfur dioxide. It was developed by the company in the early 1990s. Calabrian proudly emphasizes a 20-year track record of safety with this technology.
"It's different than what historically people have done. We call it 'clean' because of its environmental nature and how sensitive it is to the environment," said Smith.
He said the company has appreciated the tremendous support shown by both city officials and the community.
"We had the opportunity to go to a few other places, but we felt like this was a place we could call home, and wanted to be a part of this community," said Smith.
He said the company will be using only about 5.7 acres of land, and said there will not be a 'great big facility' looming over the area.
An example of a Calabrian Corporation sulfur dioxide plant. Because of the obvious differences in climates between Texas and Timmins, the local plant will be housed indoors. The company says it will also only be one-third of this size. "The actual footprint of the process only takes up about 30 feet wide and 70 feet long of space," said Smith.
The report presented to council outlined a series of environmental and safety bullet points such as:
- No liquid waste streams to dispose of
- Minimal non-hazardous solid waste
- Very small non-condensable air discharge stream
- Minimal fugitive emissions
- Low Noise
- Minimal explosive and/or fire potential
As far as airborne emissions go there will be a four-inch diameter, and 20-metre tall stack that will protrude into the sky.
"The only reason why it's that tall, is because that's how tall our building is, and we had to get it through the roof. So it doesn't require a huge stack to get it way up into the air and disperse the stream out," said Smith.
Smith said there will be 0.1 parts per million of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) in the air stream, or only 25 percent of what government regulations allow for similar emissions.
"We could operate four times as dirty as we are, and still be within guidelines that the Ministry has set," he said.
Smith mentioned how the revolting 'rotten eggs' smell that the general public associates with sulfur won't be an issue at the new plant. He also pointed out how the plant will not be producing sulphuric acid, and thus will not have any 'acid mist' issues.
Councillor Pat Bamford, who represents Ward 4, where the facility will be located, said chipperly "It's good to have Texas back in town."
Councillor Rick Dubeau told Smith he was particularly happy about Calabrian's environmental efforts, citing the fact he doesn't want Timmins to become like Sudbury's 'moon landscape' from previous decades.
The sulfur dioxide facility will be located on Hallnor Road in Porcupine, and will utilize the adjacent railway tracks to move materials.
Smith told council that Calabrian hopes to have the plant 'up and running by the end of this year.'
The facility is expected to provide approximately 20 positions.
Interested parties can get in touch with Workforce North.
There is a Public Information Meeting being held on Wednesday night at the Days Inn at 7pm. Everyone is welcome according to Smith.
