Aluminium smelter — the controversy continues

First, the proposed aluminum smelter is being described as being "low-emission, and modern." The repeated reports of the health hazards of such smelters, have been met with the argument that the data on which these reports are premised, are old data. Consequently, there has been an attempt to convey the idea that over time, there have been significant advances in the manufacturing process of aluminum, when it is well known that the technique involved, has not changed much over the last 100 years. The basic process is one of electrolysis in which aluminum oxide (alumina) is dissolved in molten cryolite and an electrical current is passed through the solution, thereby separating alumina into aluminum and oxygen. Essentially, four kinds of technology execute this process. Of 67 operational smelters for which the employed technology could be determined, 36 employed the Soderberg technology, while 29 used the more modern pre-bake method. Of the 36 Soderberg plants, only five were located outside Latin America, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia. Soderberg plants are notorious polluters.

Our country historically, has not been enforcing its environmental legislation. Industrial pollution through the discharge of potentially toxic waste from our refineries I am certain, has been contributing significantly to the worsening of our health status as a nation. Many of these pollutants are potent carcinogens and can indeed in addition, cause a variety of other illnesses. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are implicated in the pathogenesis of fibrosing alveolitis and a scleroderma like syndrome which I have documented in workers in the refinery at Point Fortin.

On average, breast cancer in Trinidad, accounts for 14.5 percent of reported cancers in Trinidad and Tobago, while breast cancer in the Tobago population accounts for 9.8 percent of all cancers in TT. For colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and cervical cancer, the figures for Trinidad vs Tobago, as a percentage of all cancers in TT, are as follows respectively: 8.0 percent Trinidad vs 5.8 percent Tobago; for lung cancer Trinidad 7.1 percent vs 5.1 percent for Tobago; and for cervical cancer: 8.0 percent Trinidad vs 3.8 percent Tobago. The one obvious big difference between the environment in Trinidad and that of Tobago, is that the latter does not have any oil refineries. Whether or not this obvious environmental difference might be of significance is yet to be examined, in the light of the known carcinogenic pollutants that are by-products of the process of refining crude oil.

With regard to aluminum smelters, I have previously provided evidence that conclusively shows that aluminum smelter workers are at increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

The presence of diabetes and the prior exposure to pesticides in these previous agricultural workers, enhance this risk. Armstrong B; Hutchinson E et al (Environ Health Perspect — 01-JUN-2004; 112(9): 970-8) published a meta-analysis of Lung cancer risk after exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The study concluded that the average estimated unit relative risk (URR) was increased at a given threshold of occupational exposure, and it varied by industry. The estimated means in coke ovens, gasworks, and aluminum production works were elevated and on average, similar. Average URRs in other industries were higher but imprecisely estimated, with those for asphalt workers and chimney sweeps significantly higher than the three above. Hence, the asphalt worker in Point Fortin is already at risk of lung cancer, are we going to increase this risk by throwing in an aluminum smelter?

The communities at Cap-de-Ville and Chatham have expressed their wish not to have an aluminum smelter built there. If prevailing reports are accurate, the legal requirements for this project have not yet been met, yet the site has been cleared! This type of assault on the dignity of the people who live in areas designated for this type of project, is historically consistent. For centuries, the Mohawks of Akwesasne — an area straddling the border between present-day New York State and Canada — depended on the bounties of the St Lawrence River for their livelihood.

The river was central to their communal economy based on fishing, hunting, trapping and farming. For much of the 20th century, three large industrial plants near the reservation used the St Lawrence as an open sewer, contaminating the water with a cocktail of toxic chemicals. One of the three companies that have poisoned the St Lawrence is Alcoa Inc, the same global corporation that operates 228 facilities in 32 countries — including an aluminum smelter at Massena, upstream from Akwesasne. With the traditional communal economy collapsing, entrepreneurial economies — including gambling and smuggling — have long since been "edging their way in."

Is the present Government willing to accept the social opportunity cost that would result from permitting this transnational corporation to ride roughshod over our rural people?