The recent decision to move some of Richmond’s organic waste away from Harvest Power is certainly a welcome one for me. A slight reprieve from that putrid smell will certainly be nice, but it is a Band-Aid that doesn’t address the elephant in the room: we still don’t know what the health effects are from breathing in these toxic fumes periodically.
It’s an alarming state of affairs when, in the beginning of October, I get off a plane from China, take one whiff of air and I’m wishing I was back there. I’ve spent weeks training in Beijing and Shanghai with less concern for my health than I have when I’m out on the streets of Richmond some days.
The days when we are plagued with the aroma I can definitely see a decrease in the quality of my training. I was very much looking forward to 2017, getting to spend more time at home, in Richmond, while I train to try and win a medal at the World Championships this summer, but I find myself wishing I was back in Flagstaff, or Canberra, or hell even Beijing some days!
What is incredibly disconcerting, and frankly criminal in my mind, is that Metro Vancouver has allowed a seven-fold increase in the amount of emissions that Harvest Power is allowed to emit without Vancouver Coastal Health examining the effects on our health! Makes me feel like a mouse on a wheel of some appalling science experiment, rather than a human with free will.
And the children; won’t somebody please think of the children. How are we supposed to be encouraging kids to get out and get their 60 minutes of daily physical activity if we can’t send them outside for fear of the harm these emissions may play on their developing respiratory systems. At a time when only nine per cent of Canadian kids get their daily recommended amounts of physical activity, the last thing we need is another excuse not to get outside.
So, while these new changes are nice, let’s keep asking the important questions and until we know we are safe, lets put a halt on Harvest.
Evan Dunfee is a local race walker who competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics, where he placed fourth in his main event
