Dioxin/Furan Levels an indicator of toxic contaminants in coastal BC

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Nine pulp and paper mills discharge secondary-treated effluent to the marine waters of British Columbia, Canada. The Bowater mill at Gold River was closed in February 1998. The Port Alice mill on Vancouver Island is a sulphite mill that uses chlorine in its process but dioxins and furans measured in the receiving environment have not been elevated to levels of concern. It is not in the Dioxin and Furan Trend Monitoring Program. The Port Alberni mill used chlorine in its operations until 1993 but is now producing pulp from groundwood and chemo-thermomechanical mills, using some hydrogen peroxide bleaching. Since 1993, this mill reports no dioxin/furan loadings but it was monitored by the Program until 1998 to track environmental dioxin levels. The seven other mills are all bleached kraft pulp mills. Two of these discharge effluent to Howe Sound which is a relatively sheltered, low-energy environment while four others discharge to more exposed, high energy coastal areas. The seventh mill is at Prince Rupert on the north coast and discharges to a tidally flushed channel system. In 2001, this Prince Rupert mill closed but the Monitoring Program has continued to monitor the dioxin and furan levels in the sediment and crabs in it's vicinity.

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