Pulp, paper producers plead for time to reduce pollutants: federal deadline 'unrealistic'.

• Author: Bickford, Paul

Pulp, paper producers plead for time to reduce pollutants

The pulp and paper industry is asking for more time to meet the federal government's proposed pollution reduction regulations.

Under the planned changes, pulp mills would have to reduce dioxins and furans, a suspected cause of birth defects and cancer, in their waste water to levels that cannot be measured by a specific procedure by Jan. 1, 1994.

The proposals would also strengthen current controls on conventional pollutants in pulp and paper mill effluent.

The proposed regulations are expected to be approved in 1991.

EXTENSION NECESSARY

Howard Hart, president of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, said his organization has advised Ottawa that an extension is necessary.

Some other companies, especially those with more than one mill, may need extra time, he said.

"It may take about a year or more in some instances."

While noting that much work is already underway, Hart explained that putting the control units into operation will take some time because of the specialized engineering and talent being used and the magnitude of the work. "It's a high-tech business in itself."

Employees will also need time to properly learn to operate the systems, he added. "It's just a practical thing."

Companies intend to comply with the proposed regulations, Hart stressed, noting that some mills are already changing.

While the association has offered its advice to the government, it has yet to hear what Ottawa intends to do in response, if anything.

Hart said that to meet the regulations as proposed, the industry across the country would face a $3.5-billion bill for capital investments.

However, he noted that the Ontario industry is ahead of other mills in the country, since it has worked with the provincial Ministry of the Environment to regulate chlorinated organic compounds.

Ontario's nine kraft mills are already committed to limiting their discharge of chlorinated organic compounds by Dec. 31, 1991.

Dioxins and furans are organochlorines, a large family of chemicals produced in the chlorine bleaching process used in pulp and paper mills to break down wood fibre and brighten paper.

80 TREATMENT PLANTS

I.D. (Joe) Bird, president of the Ontario Forest Industries Association in Toronto, also believes it will be difficult for companies to meet the federal deadline.

"The problem is that complying with the draft regulations will require installation of about 80 secondary treatment plants across Canada...