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Sour Gas Levels at Mildred Lake

Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Hydrogen sulphide, also known as sour gas, is highly toxic and could lead to eye irritation, sore throat, cough, nausea, and shortness of breath, and that’s at its very, very lowest levels. It’s average annual concentration at Mildred Lake in northern Alberta has increased 135 per cent over the last 10 years. The air in Wood Buffalo went from exceeding the standard 13 times five years ago to 350 times this last year. My questions are to the Minister of Environment. How does the minister explain exceeding the standard 350 times? What the heck is going on?

Mr. Renner: Mr. Speaker, the issue of the monitoring of air comes down to determining what are the levels at which the various operators are allowed to emit and determining when exceedances occur. The point at which the allowable limit is set is far less than the point at which there would be any risk to humans. The member is pointing out a serious concern that we have, a concern that we have taken up with the operators out there. We’ll be doing everything that we can to bring that under control, but I can assure the member that these exceedances do not equate to human health risk.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Ms Blakeman:

Mr. Renner: Mr. Speaker, we are holding the operators accountable. I must reiterate yet one more time: there is a difference between an exceedance on an operating permit and human health risk. I can assure this member, I can assure all Albertans that should there be a point at which our air monitoring indicates that there is a health risk, we would be dealing with it in a decidedly different way.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much. Well, Mr. Minister, it’s 350 times, and it is sour gas.

My final question to the minister is: why isn’t the sour gas monitored in Fort MacKay, which is the closest populated area to Mildred Lake?

Mr. Renner: Mr. Speaker, we rely on a series of monitoring stations, some of which are permanent and some of which are mobile. The member knows perfectly well that we do have on occasion the ability to move mobile monitoring into locations that we feel are in need of monitoring. If the member has reason to believe that that mobile monitoring should be taking place, I would ask her to bring it to my attention.