THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

automotives
section

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PCB SHIPMENTS RAISE CONCERNS, OFFICIALS SAY PASSENGERS AT NO RISK

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safety

THE B.C. Ferry and Marzine Workers Union (BCFMWU)
will continue to press for en investigation into the transpor-
tation of dangerous goods aboard B.C. Ferry Corp. vessels
following revelations that PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)
are being shipped regularly on passenger ferries running be-
tween Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo.

HY RE

s Reporter

He PMWHi president Lee
Conhtan said Wednesday dange
eu, pouds seach ay PCRs should

oder any carclumstances, be “There are barges and all kinds

of other vessels available for
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that,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t have a
system in place to check commer-
cial vehicles (on passenger ferries).
We don’t know what commercial
vehicles are carrying. We need an
investigation that is going to tell us
what is being transported."’

But B.C. Ferry officials say the
corporation is following all inter-
national regulations that govern
the transportation. of dangerous
goods aboard passenger vessels.

B.C. Ferry Bil!

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Bouchard said Wednesday the
regulations are extremely
thorough, ‘‘so there is no cause for
alarm and no need for an in-
vestigation. Nobody is more con-
cerned about transportation of
goods than B.C. Ferries.’

The regulations limit to 10 kgs.
the amount of PCBs that can be
carried aboard passenger vessels at
any one time.

Bouchard added that transpor-
tation of PCBs a er

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ater. aes

s for ferry
stigat

on

ferries is infrequent: five to six
times per year.

PCBs have been linked to skin
abnormalities, cancer and birth
defects.

The chemical, which is shipped
on ferries in the form of PCB-
contaminated oil from B.C. Hydro
transformers and capacitors on
Vancouver [sland to the com-
pany’s plant in Surrey, is usually