Labelling scrap `hazardous’ could cut smelter feed

Proposed legislation governing cross-border shipments of hazardous waste threatens to put the recycling divisions of some of Canada’s biggest mining companies out of business. The mining industry says that by categorizing scrap and secondary metals as hazardous waste, the federal government will cripple a business that not only contributes millions to the coffers of companies like Noranda (TSE) and Falconbridge Ltd., but also prevents huge volumes of scrap from piling up in landfills.

“Canada has a lot to lose with this legislation,” says Gary Nash, a spokesman for the Mining Association of Canada. “Recyclables should have never been included on the list.”

Canada’s scrap metal trade is worth about $2 billion annually. At Noranda’s Horne smelter in Rouyn- Noranda, Que., recyclable material represents about 10% of the smelter’s total feed.

Under the proposed legislation, an exporter of hazardous waste would have to notify and obtain advance approval from the importing country before shipping waste. To ensure proper disposal, the waste would then be traced to its ultimate destination.

In addition, all importers and exporters would have to buy insurance to cover environmental damage and cleanup should an accident occur. Penalties for law-breakers would include jail sentences of up to three years and fines of up to $1 million.

The regulations would allow Canada to ratify terms specified in the Basel Convention, which was signed in 1989 by most industrialized countries, including Canada.

But for many scrap suppliers, the headaches created by the proposed requirements may convince them to take their business elsewhere. The legislation and its inherent delays would also make it impossible for metal recyclers to conclude contracts on the spot market.

“These are very, very onerous information requirements,” says Nash. “All of the major smelting and refining companies would be affected.”

A leachate test, whereby material is subjected to a level of acidity that approximates conditions found in landfills, is used to determine whether material for transport is hazardous.

That is why scrap metal is included in the hazardous category — it tends to contain various contaminants, the most common being lead.

Nash does not deny the need to monitor scrap shipments, but he and other representatives of the mining industry resent the fact that, under the new law, recyclable materials would be treated in the same way as waste headed for landfills.

“They are not distinguishing between waste for disposal and waste for recycling,” says Bob Sippel, director of unrefined precious metals for Noranda Minerals. “Why should the computer off your desk be treated in the same way as a truckload of PCBs?”

Because Sippel oversees Noranda’s precious metal scrap recycling business (which recycles computer circuit boards), he is particularly concerned about the proposals.

According to government officials, however, the mining industry’s fears are unsubstantiated. They say that the pre-notification procedure has been in effect since June, 1989, under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, and that only “minor additional information requirements” will be necessary under the proposed legislation.

“These regulations will not impact the recycling industry,” says Antione Dionne, head of the transportation section for hazardous wastes at Environment Canada. “We want to make sure that recycling is preserved.”

Dionne stresses the importance of monitoring the trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste, including recyclables, in case of accidents along the way. Until waste reaches its ultimate destination, whether it is recyclable is irrelevant, he notes.

The government is equally concerned about “sham recyclers,” who say they are shipping recyclables, but use the excuse to move hazardous wastes destined for the dump.

Environment Canada has set up a task force so that interested parties may voice their concerns about the legislation. The MAC says it is making some headway, and is encouraged by recent discussions concerning the definition of hazardous waste.