PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) – The P.E.I. Environment Department will be testing emissions from waste oil furnaces, following a ban on the burners in southern Ontario.
The furnaces use the waste from vehicle oil changes for heating, and there are about 30 of them on the Island, most of them at auto repair shops and trucking companies. The burners were made illegal in southern Ontario because of concerns about what was coming out of the furnace stacks, and going into the air.
John Bennett, executive director of Sierra Club Canada, said the used oil burners release greenhouse gases and other contaminants, such as lead.
“We’ve come a long way, and we have to stop looking at the atmosphere as a dump and using people’s lungs as a place to put our waste,” said Bennett.
“The contaminants in the used engine oil are not in your furnace oil that you’re heating your home with.”
CBC News contacted a number of the operators of waste oil furnaces on P.E.I., but none were willing to talk about them, though they did say they save money by using the burners. Companies that sell the furnaces say businesses that produce waste oil can reduce their heating costs to zero.
Environment Minister Richard Brown said given the ban in Ontario, his department will take another look at the used oil furnaces.
“What is coming out of the stack or what can be done to the units in order to make them more efficient in terms of air quality?” said Brown.
“We’d review that in terms of that and put the appropriate regulations in place.”
Bennett said Sierra Club Canada would like to see a Canada-wide ban.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com
http://furnasmanonehourfurnace.ca/
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