* kisi teresa Fu Sia br TL i aes SAIS “04 a oy Barras LENIENT OTE SANA SORES BELT CN CEL AION EB AE PERE STE z ee SULPHUR DIOXIDE EMISSIONS Local firm seeks approval to store special batteries in N. Vancouver A NORTH Vancouver-based company developing high- energy batteries for the Canadian and U.S. armed forces has applied to the provincial Waste Management Branch for a permit to store up to 10,000 kgs of waste lithium- sulphur-dioxide batteries at its North Vancouver location. Ballard Battery Systems Corp. @BSC), a subsidiary of Ballard Technologies Corp. (BTC), has made the application in anticipa- tion of receiving used batteries back from its customers. In addition to storage permis- sion, Ballard has applid to the Waste Management Branch for approval to newtralize and dispose of the batteries under a process currently being developed by the company. BTC vice-president of marketing David McLeod said the Ballard process, which will be perfected over the next few months, would reduce the batteries to harmless waste. “In the U.S. they dump them in landfill sites,’” he said, ‘‘but that’s something Canada doesn’t want to Residents want fe save park From page 1 David Blacoe: ‘‘At this point we’re happy with that. We know they’re taking a serious look at it, and council has turned around. This is the first step.”” North Vancouver District Mayor Marilyn Baker explains the review designation this way: “It means that these two areas were identified in the Seymour Official Communi- ty Plan. They were reviewed in detail and they were subject tc public input. The district-wide OCP incorporated the Seymour OCP and that probably triggered a new public awareness. ‘*What that’s saying is that it’s time for a review of where we're going. Given the fact that there have been many changes in the area since the Seymour OCP was adopted and the concern that that land is designated park, there are now red lines around these two yellow blips.”’ More than 3,000 people have signed a petition to save Lynn Canyon Park currently being cir- culated by the LVCA. The association will have the petition available at information booths set up this Saturday (May 6) at Lynn Valley Centre and at Capilano Mall May 20. An LVCA public information. meeting on the issue is set for May 25, 7:30 p.m., at Lynn Valley Hall. A district public hearing on the issue and the overall OCP is scheduled for May 30, 7 p.m. at Balmoral Junior Secondary school. Auto......ceeeeees Classified Ads.......... Doug Collins........... 9 Editorial Page........ Home & Garden........ Mailbox ...... What's Going On WEATHER Friday and Saturday, sunry. Highs near 22°C. 4 Second Class Registration Number 3885 News Reporter do and something we don’t want to do.” The company, according to McLeod, has $3.2 million worth of back orders for various configura- tions of the battery, primarily with the Canadian and U.S. armed forces. He said the first batch of bat- teries produced at the 1164 West 15th Street location in North Van- couver is currently being tested by Canada’s Department of National Defence. McLeod said Baliard could begin shipping the batteries to the Canadian Armed Forces as early as. May or June. Shipments were ini- iialy schotuled to begin in July. Production, he said, would be up to 500 cells per day “within weeks”? and up to a maximum of 1,000 per day in approximately six months. He estimated that an initial 10 to 12 people will be hired within 60 days to work on the manufacturing production line. : BBSC spokesman Dr. Alan Harkness said the company’s manufacturing facility is currently running at about 25 per cent ca- pacity, and is in the process of ap- plying to the Greater Vancouver Regional District for an air emis- sions permit for the sulphur diox- ide emissions created when Ballard moves into full battery production. But Harkness said the emissions will be well within GVRD guidelines. McLeod said that BTC, which leads the world in developing a non-polluting Solid Polymer Fuel Cell, is applying for the various municipal and environmental per- mits well in advance of peak bat- tery production because the com- pany is extremely environmentally aware and dedicated to creating environmentally benign energy. Harkness said the storage of the batteries poses no environmental hazard, and the volume of returu- ed batteries would largely depend upon what the defence department decides to do with its scrap bat- teries. Louise Ouellett, an environmen- tal safety engineer with the provin- cial Waste Management Branch, said Ballard’s application is in its very initial stages. But she said the branch is satisfied that the company’s bat- tery rendering process is safe and will leave no polluting residue. The prccess, she added, will have to mcet stringent regulations. Ballard is the only company in Canada and one of only five com- panies in North America with the technology needed to manufacture the lithium-sulphur-dioxide _ bat- teries. The battery has three times the hs wens se ree BIC vice-president of marketing, David McLeod ...doesn’t want to dump batteries, shelf life and delivers three to 10 times the power output of com- parable alkaline batteries. It also performs well in extremely cold weather. . Applications thus far are restricted primarily to military use in such programs as spacecraft and military fighter planes. The portable fuel cell has ap- plications that range from electric automobiles to airplanes and underwater vehicles. Future commercial applications of both products are virtually ‘un- limited. wc NEWS photo Terry Peters SPRINGTIME AND the living is easy. These sunlovers were caught napping recently on the snowy slopes of Cypress Bowl, Sunny days have local residents flocking to icy areas to get an early start on their tans. BC Rail to take over maintenance, running costs of the Royal Hudson MOUNTING FINANCIAL pressures from operating and maintenance costs have shunted the Royal Hudson steam train into the corporate arms of BC Rail. The responsibility for running and maintaining the popular train was shifted April 28 from the Royal Hudson Steam Train Society (RHSTS) to the North Van- couver-based railway. Tourism Minister Bill Reid said Tuesday the move was made because BC Rail’s passenger ser- vice was subsidized by the gov- ernment so it only made sense that the Hudson’s passenger service be operated by the railway. With BC Rail providing the Royal Hudson with its zailway ex- pertise and administration rather than just contracting out its facili- ties to RHSTS, Reid said operating overhead for the tourist passenger service would likely be reduced. The move, he said, ‘‘should enhance it (the Hudson’s service).’’ By TIMOTEY RENSHAW News Reporter The steam train, which began its daily round-trip run between North Vancouver and Squamish in 1974, was initially operated by BC Rail under contract to the provin- cial government. But, in 1985, RHSTS was estab- lished as a non-profit society to run and market the train and turn it into a self-sustaining operation. Though the society had reduced the Royal Hudson’s running debt from $650,000 in 1985 to approx- imately $300,000, major costly engine breakdowns last year coupled with the estimated $2 mil- lion cost needed to refurbish the train’s cars over the next five years forced the RHSTS to turn to the government for more financial help. The government, in turn, began reassessing the train’s operation. Both the Royal Hudson and the RHSTS’s back-up 3716 engine troke down at the same time last year during the tourist season, for- cing the society to use a diesel replacement and another steam engine, the 6060, while the two main engines were being repaired. RHSTS general manager Ron Treend said Monday the society had “no money in the kitty to handle that.” | Approximately two thirds of the Hudson’s annual operating budget was raised by the society through train fares and other revenues; the other third came from the provin- cial government. The major chunk of the Hud- son’s annual operating budget, approximately $1 million, went to BC Rail for the use of its facilities. Under the new arrangement, BC Rail will assume ownership ‘or the lease of the steam train equipment and maintenance facilities, which are located in the railway’s North Vancouver yard. Treend said Monday the offices of the RHSTS will officially close at the end of this month, but the society itself will remain intact to oversee the Royal Hudson opera- tion and act as an advisory board. Treend has been offered a posi- tion at BC Rail for the balance of this season to work with the railway in integrating the steam train into the railway’s operation. BC Rail spokesman Barrie Wall said no changes in the Royal Hud- son’s schedule are contemplated for the next two summer seasons, but after that its operation will be reassessed. . BC Rail, which made a net prof- it of $58 million last year, will absorb the Royal Hudson deficit.