Nov
12
Naysayers often dismiss residents as NIMBYs. The challenge for residents has been to validate anecdotal evidence which has been done
using Galileo's maxim: "Measure what can be measured, and make measurable what cannot be measured".
From 2006 through 2012, there have been seven BC Ministry of the Environment, VIHA and CRD reports focused on air quality (AQ) issues related to cruise-ship emissions. All have found definitive correlations between cruise-ship calls and sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels.
Before the results of the mobile lab AQ study of 2009 were known, the 2009 Residents Survey identified cruise-ship emissions as the 4th most pressing transportation issue out of 11 identified issues, after tourist bus volumes, tourist bus noise, and motorcycles. Residents who assigned a higher action priority to cruise-ship emissions tended to reside northeast of Ogden Point.
Among the specific complaints of 2011, several identified time, date, and location. One complaint submitted directly by a government executive staff member to Dr. Stanwick, Chief Medical Health Officer, VIHA, supported the position that the Erie St. monitoring site measures only a narrow swath of SO2 emissions, essentially when the wind blows from the southwest (about 22% of the time when cruise-ships are present). Other complaints were also validated.
In 2012, residents were asked to keep a log of fume occurrences. The logs are currently being assessed with attention to wind direction and to which cruise-ships were present.
Maximum hourly SO2 levels measured at Erie St. during 2012 have been recorded at three times the level that VIHA considers acceptable for individuals with asthma and other respiratory conditions.
Cruise-ship industry impacts on James Bay are not merely a matter of opinion; they have been proven. Naysayers may find comfort in knowing that the Flat Earth Society is still active 400 years after Galileo's Inquisition.
Brian Scarfe,
Information Director, JBNA