Proposed Fraser Surrey Docks Coal Terminal Prompts More Health Concerns

CBC News reported that Dr. Paul Van Buynder, chief medical officer at the Fraser Health Authority, has called for an assessment of the health risks associated with the plan to build a coal terminal at Fraser Surrey Docks. The plan would see 4 million metric tons of coal from Montana and Wyoming transported down the Fraser River to Texada Island and then to Asia.

Van Buynder commented:

The barges travel up the river for 12 hours, not all of them have dust suppression as part of the proposal. There will be a lot of impacts associated with the increased train travel.

We think that there needs to be a full assessment of this. We understand that that would mean that this doesn’t commence during this summer but we think that it’s important that the proponent and the regulator listen to the community’s concerns.

We’re disappointed with the extent of the information provided to the health department and we think that the modelling that we’ve seen is insufficient to be confident that there won’t be health impact

We think it’s likely that this will be a safe proposal but we are aware of significant community concern.

Click here to read the full CBC News report.