Dr. Tim Takaro is part of a first-of-its-kind study that is currently being conducted to survey and examine the air quality and chemical release from a liquified natural gas (LNG) plant, Woodfibre LNG. The plant, located just outside Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish, BC), claims to be the world’s first net-zero LNG plant. The Peak interviewed Takaro for more information.
“The basis of this investigation is that there is very little information about the permitting of this facility, particularly about the health impacts. They don’t have an air quality permit yet, but they’re able to build a plant anyways,” Takaro explained. “The elephant in the room is these plants contribute to global warming. They are not better than coal, they leak methane, they are burning methane wherever the product ends up, they are spoiling the emissions profile for Canada, and mortgaging the future.”
Flaring is the act of extracting liquified natural gasses from oil for energy production, releasing toxic chemicals and adding “to what’s already in the air.” Takaro said “it’s another source of air pollution,” and noted “very little information” is known about the impact of flaring on air quality. Flaring is shown to have many impacts on the health of communities residing near these plants, such as “low birth weight in babies” as well as “higher infant mortality and rates of chronic disease.” Takaro is a public health physician with years of research on pollution-induced health effects. “So in that sense, public health frequently bumps up against politics.”
The two-year-long investigation aims to “compare what the proponent, Woodfibre LNG, says that they are going to flare and what they actually flare.” The study is in collaboration with multiple organizations and institutions from across Canada, such as the University of Victoria, Vancouver Coastal Health, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Simon Fraser University, the University of Toronto, and Texas A&M University. The study will utilize satellite data to record flaring events at night, illuminated by the flames that flaring produces. This information from the satellite data is then plugged into various computer-simulated models to compare what “they say and what we see.”
Takaro explained the ways many projects, such as LNG projects, get approved. LNG extraction companies will make promises to the government, such as the cost of the project and timeline for completion. However, once the project is already underway, the costs and timelines initially promised can increase by the billions without external regulation. According to Takaro, LNG proponents “have wildly underestimated the costs to sell it,” and “they overpromise and under-deliver to the point where it’s fraudulent.”
The secondary aim of the study is to show politicians that, “when they’re approving these plants, and regulators, when they’re monitoring them, don’t just rely on the proponent for their information.” Takaro noted this focus is important because “the proponent is biased, and in the cases I’ve mentioned, probably fraudulent.” He added that “they need independent assessments of the plants and also during the operations.”
“If we don’t immediately reduce our emissions, we’re in for a world of hurt,” Takaro said, citing increases in heat deaths, flooding, and wildfires. “And it’s just going to keep getting worse.”
