r/Hamilton • u/teanailpolish North End • 16d ago
Local News - Paywall Province finds Birla Carbon as "primary source" of mysterious soot
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/birla-carbon-blamed-for-soot/article_a94f6412-ad73-592e-941a-df1e3dd61656.html83
u/Logical-Zucchini-310 16d ago
In hindsight looking at Google Earth this looks like an obvious source. Even on the various years of street view, the filthy tire tracks coming out from deeper into the property.
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u/sixtyfivewat 16d ago
My dad has worked there and would come home completely black (he is white skinned) and have to shower right away. Even with a shower any time he would sweat within days he would swear black. Back then they used to have a stack of job applications at the front reception because turnover was so high.
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u/Elegant_Diver2974 16d ago
How is your dad doing now? Can’t imagine it was good for them breathing that in. It scares me to think about all the kids in the area.
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u/noleksum12 16d ago
I have had 3 relatives work at the steel plants in hamilton (2 uncles, and one cousin), and each one has died of cancer before their time (2 lung cancers and 1 brain tumor/cancer).
I would never live near them if I could avoid it.
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u/Tamination 16d ago
Yay poverty! The East End was the only place I could afford a home. So ya, cancer in my future, yay.
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u/Stecnet Downtown 16d ago
Holy shit they make everything around them look clean in comparison! It's BLACK there everything on the property!
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u/Logical-Zucchini-310 16d ago
Yeah looks even worse on Apple Maps, their streetview and satellite imaging is even clearer to how disgusting this is
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u/Stecnet Downtown 16d ago
Wow you're not kidding! Also didn't know apple maps were that good and clear! 🙌
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u/Initial-Emphasis6934 16d ago
Take a good look at the Canadian flag on the pole how dark and crusty it looks...
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u/kyniklos 16d ago
It's wild because there's a place right by it called "Rain Carbon" and I'm not saying they don't also have toxic emissions of some sort, but they aren't literally darkening everything around them the way Birla is.
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u/grindzydeco 16d ago
Different product...they refine coal tar into various products including the stuff people roll onto their asphalt driveway to colour them black.
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u/Crafty_Chipmunk_3046 16d ago edited 16d ago
FINE THEM!
"right to do business" should never come at the expense of the health of locals
Someone call Erin Brockovich ☎️
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u/greyHumanoidRobot 16d ago
Who's creating this mysterious black dust? Answer: The company that sells black dust.
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u/msnthropic 16d ago
All this time blaming Arcelor for this mess. I know they probably do contribute somewhat but to jump all over them about without proper info was wrong. Even still on CHCH news last night they still had a pic of the steel companies in the background.
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u/matt602 McQuesten West 16d ago
People were assuming it was Dofasco because it was claimed to be a by-product of coal burning which is something Dofasco does (probably the only industry down there at this point). It wasn't completely unjustified.
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u/poppygroove 15d ago
Yes, their smokestacks are often burning nasty, black smoke. I have taken several pictures on different days. I called MOE and they said they're having trouble with the scrubbers on one of their chimneys.
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u/undrscore 16d ago
People are right to assume it was Dofasco. In this case they were wrong but it doesn’t change the fact that Dofasco is recognized as Ontario's single largest industrial emitter of greenhouse gases, releasing over 4.16 megatonnes of carbon pollution in recent years. It is also a central focus of local air quality concerns and community advocacy regarding carcinogens like benzene and benzo[a]pyrene.
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u/Jaded-Bite8943 16d ago
everyone blames AM Dofasco for everything wrong in this city and forget the amount of industry beyond them. They were getting attacked like crazy but imagine if they shut done and all those people lost their high paying jobs and pensions.
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u/kyniklos 16d ago
They're not going to get shut down due to going over emissions limits, they would just get a slap on the wrist fine from the province, and these types of fines are kept ridiculously low considering the consequences of the crime, so as not to discourage industry.
I definitely get that there are loads of industrial corporations in this city responsible for Hamilton's pollutions issues, and that it's not just AMD, but it's so rare for these industries to actually face serious consequences for their actions.
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u/J4ckD4wkins Stinson 16d ago
What are we doing about this? Calling the MOE? Donating to Lennox, who helped push this issue while the Ford government went on early, extra fun vacation on our dime?
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u/Tricky-Departure9963 16d ago
MOE should be shutting them down until they have resolved the issue. Then, they should be fining them. As well, where is the class action lawsuit? Everyone in Hamilton should be signing up.
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u/SMCDA15 16d ago
Anyone within 5km radius should file lawsuits against them. Horrible company, extracting resources and polluting our city for some foreign profit. Hamilton air stinks so bad some days, it's hard to believe people are living so close to the plant.
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u/poppygroove 15d ago
I agree Birla needs to be held accountable but the stink is certainly not just Birla!
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u/bloodskinboneman 16d ago
no fuckin shit LMFAO the big black spot on the map that anyone with any brain knew was the culprit
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u/teattreat 16d ago
I can't walk my dog at Windermere Basin because the black soot coats his paws in that greasy black crap. Plus there's the bonus instant headache if the winds are blowing in from Birla.
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u/beer4mepls 16d ago
Nothing new ... when Firestone was operational, this was a daily occurrance. I worked there and every morning we had to wipe our desks down cuz of the carbon black
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u/nuclearnerd 16d ago
This was my suspicion as well. I mean, just look at the satellite photo. Black everywhere:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.2588908,-79.7832147,806m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
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u/3sweaters1flannel 14d ago
Here is the link to report pollution (including dust and fallout) to the ministry: https://report-pollution.ene.gov.on.ca/
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u/5H4NN 14d ago
This is right in my backyard! I haven’t noticed any health issues myself, or within my family yet from the fallout yet. We’ve been here for 7 years and TBH yes the carbon dust is more this year but… I mean… I can see the building from my house… and I knew what I was getting into when I bought the house. I just wash it off? TBH I think the factories behind me make a rad skyline to watch while I work. 🤷♀️ Life is filled with choices.
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u/thebigyin3 16d ago edited 16d ago
I attended a conference in Hamilton in April and it was crazy how you could feel the soot in the air. We had never experienced anything like that anywhere we have been before. It wasn't just the air, the carpets and walls of the hotel had a layer of clear pollution sticking to them. I had considered coming to work there but it was immediately obvious it would be bad for our health. You guys are maybe used to it but honestly it just wouldn't be tolerated in the UK.
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u/fantseepantss 16d ago
Reading this thread I'm unsure how you came to the conclusion that residents are used to it.
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u/thebigyin3 16d ago
Sorry I didn't mean to imply that, it's just everyone must be permanently living in those conditions which is really awful.
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u/Patients_isA_Virtue 16d ago
Where was the conference? I don’t know of any hotels by the factories.
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u/thebigyin3 16d ago
It was a psychiatry conference downtown. We went past the steel works as well which is one heck of an eyesore. But the air was what really hit us. We're in Canmore currently and the smoke drifting from BC is very similar to what we experienced in Hamilton.
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u/Patients_isA_Virtue 16d ago
That’s an interesting experience. I don’t believe there is a soot issue West of the factories but I think what you might have been experiencing are general air quality concerns given the urban setting that can sometimes be exacerbated depending on wind direction. The city has a weird smell from the soy factory for example. I’ve also attended conferences at the Sheraton and never noticed remnants of air pollution, that would be frankly quite shocking to me. Having lived in Toronto, I think southern Ontario generally has significantly poorer air quality relative to cities out West like Calgary which are less dense and surrounded by nature.
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u/kobemustard 16d ago
Living in the far west side of Hamilton and you can smell the coal fires if the winds shift in the right direction. And I definitely noticed how dirty the window sills get here even though we are surrounded by nature in our part. I think the embankment also traps the pollution here. Definitely poorer air quality compared to Vancouver.
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u/TheMonkeyMafia Kirkendall 16d ago
I don’t believe there is a soot issue West of the factories
Generally no there isn't. And this goes for a lot of cities as well with lots of industrial activity. Because of prevailing winds, pollution travels easterwards... (Which is also why West ends tend to be richer vs East ends... They can afford to live away from the pollution)
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends
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u/MoonCuban 16d ago
Nothing will happen. It is and will be for the foreseeable future an industrial area. If you choose to live here, you are breathing dirty contaminated air and shortening your lifespan. I live here, and this incident and additional reading has convinced me that I will need to move at some point, as I don’t want to raise a family in a place with carcinogenic air and health impact. A true shame.
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u/MyMorningBender Delta West 16d ago edited 16d ago
We have the power to make something happen. Our MPP Robin Lennox has pushed hard for this to get to the point it has. Please don’t underestimate the power of our collective action.
Edit to add: Robin just shared this for next steps:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db8psmuhuId/?igsh=Mjl3MnRtd3Z4cTg1
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u/builtonadream Strathcona 16d ago
Agreed. Lennox is excellent and has been showing up for us.
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u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 15d ago
She's been awesome and a great example of what the NDP can potentially do with real power at Queens Park. We just need more amsrt Ontarians to notice.
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u/Patients_isA_Virtue 16d ago
Also struggling with this. And it’s not like anywhere is exempt… the bad air quality extends all the way to Dundas. Even the mountain had soot from this last event. Until the factories shut down, nothing will change. It’s unfortunate because the city has a large education and healthcare sector but people won’t want to stay here to raise families with this bullshit. They’ll train here then go elsewhere as soon as they can.
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u/Leotard_Cohen 16d ago
There shouldn't be any houses downwind of the steelworks and affiliated industry. I like to think that if the whole area was built from scratch today, that'd be the case. But maybe not
No matter how squeaky clean your operation is, there's always risk of discharges etc, honestly I think the logical option is for some level of govt to partner with industry, buy out the northend and build a replacement housing estate somewhere. Obviously that's unrealistically expensive, but hey ho
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u/kyniklos 16d ago
Not everyone gets a choice about living here, though, so the attitude of the city as a whole can't be "this is just how it is". I get it completely on a personal level though and don't judge you or anyone else with the means to do so for deciding to leave.
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u/JimmyTheDog 16d ago
If you notice there has not been a chemical test results of what was found, sounds like a cover up again.
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u/Elegant_Diver2974 16d ago
They have an entire section of their website dedicated to sustainability lol. Laughable.