IN THIS third instalment of a series profiling North Vancouver waterfront companies, the North Shore News takes a look at the operations of chemical producer Dow Chemical Canada Inc. By Surj Ratian News Reporter IN LATE 1979 an Ontario-based chemical company decided that if it wanted to compete interna- tionatly, it had to set up a termi- nal on Canada’s West Coast. Dow Chemical Canada Inc. subsequently leased a chunk of land immediately west of the Se- cond Narrows Bridge adjacent to the .Lynnterm forest products terminal from the Port of Van- couver, Today, Dow exports three chemical products to world mar- kets, mainly the Pacific Rim. Unlike CanadianOxy, a second _North Vancouver District chemical company, Dow’s North Van- couver terminal only exports chemicals, which are transported - to the North Vancouver facility from its manufacturing plant in . Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The company’s North Van- couver. terminal handles caustic soda, ethylene glycol and ethylene dichloride. _ According to statistics; Canada . uses ‘an average of 100 pounds (45 _ kg) of caustic soda, per person each year. . - Dow is the world’s largest pro- ducer of caustic. . Its North Vancouver terminal, ‘referred to as the West. Coast Distribution Centre, ships to mar- kets: such as Australia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and «China, * : ._. Mike Martel, the manager of “ Dow’s:North Vancouver terminal, said’ the Australians use the caustic soda to produce alumi- num. A small amount of it is also : shipped to B.C. pulp mills. Dow’s ethylene glycol is used in the manufacture of antifreeze and . polyester. : The third chemical transported from North Vancouver is ethylene dichloride, which is used to manufacture -vinyl and gasoline additives. . Martel said all three chemicals are transported from Fort Saskat- chewan to North Vancouver by chemical railcars and stored in six ‘tanks at the North Vancouver site, two tanks per chemical. Dow has been in’ Canada for . the past 50 years and was original- ly established in Sarnia, Ontario. Its North Vancouver plant employs five foremen and up to 30 longshoremen. ; : -But Dow also ‘uses contract employees from local North Van- couver companies, *“We off-load 32 railcars a day. In the last few years we've off- loaded about 11,000 railcars. We work very closely with Canadian National in moving our railcars between Alberta and North Van- couver. ; ' “It takes three days for the railcars tu get mere, and we now coordinate out shipping so that Fort ‘Saskatchewan ships will be off-loaded in three days and then returned to Alberta,”’ said Martel. Recycle BC RECYCLING HOTLINE "732-9253 He added that loaded chemical railcars used to sit in storage along the route from Alberta to North Vancouver while they waited to be off-loaded. Dow, along with the chemical industry, has helped initiate Community Awareness/ Emergency Response (CAER) and the TRANSCAER programs. Both are efforts to inform the community about operations at chemical plants and chemicals transported by carriers through communities. “As part of TRANSCAER, we look at our transportation routes and eliminate the hazards. It’s been extremely successful,’’ said Martel. : He added that safety is a top priority at Dow Chemicals, as are environmental concerns. “Leaks are a potential concern for us. All of the rainwater is contained on the site and all the tanks have dikes around them. We analyse the water before we release it to make sure it is pure rainwater and that no chemicals are leaked into it,’’ said Martel. ff chemicals are found in the water, it is transported to Dow’s Fort Saskatchewan plant, where it will be treated. Martel said Dow likes to think of itself as ‘‘a safe neighbor.’”’ He said that when the North Vancouver plant was. created, it was designed with plant, com- munity and employee safety in “mind. Since it opened, the North Van- couver.terminal has handled more than 75,000 railcars and loaded over 1,000 ships and barges without a serious injury or a ma- jor chemical spill. . Each chemical is channeled through a dedicated pipeline to prevent cross-contamination : and each pipeline is inspected regularly. The longshoremen who work at Dow receive training in the classroom and on-the-job. A portable foam truck is also” kept.at the site to provide instant response in case of a fire. AA MOTOROLA Cellular Burrard inlet okies ac a TS, aN 1S March 28, 1 reerernes CUTE 993 ~- North Shore News Kalth Rd, NEWS photo Mike Wakefield DOW CHEMICAL manager Mike Martel stands atop one of six huge chemical tanks at the company’s North Vancouver plant. Five Dow. employees, 30 longshoremen plus other contract workers work at. the waterfront site. 99 # ALPHA-NUMERIC MEMORY UP TO 2.2 HOURS TALK TIME 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY CAR ADAPTERS, LEATHER CASES $599 DPC 688 PLUS MITSUBISHI DT22X 99 # ALPHA MEMORY 60 MIN. TALK TIME WEIGHS ONLY 7.7 OZ. BUILT-In PAGER $ 899 MICRO-TAC LITE NUMERIC PAGERS UNLIMITED CALLS MINIMUM AGE: 19 YRS. B.C. WIDE COVERAGE STARTING AT - $20.95 / MO. CANTEL. 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