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Ad Terrace Review — Wednesday, Aprit 10, 1991

Export permit issued

International Forests Products, a
Vancouver-based company with
logging operations in the North-
wést and a string of sawmills in
the lower mainland and the Fraser
Valley, has been given permission
fo export eight percent of its
annual allowable cut from licences
in the North Coast and Mid-Coast
forest districts.

Forests Minister Claude Rich-
mond said the permit was issued to
help keep InterFor’s contractors
working during the current wood
products market slump. The com-
pany has two licences in the North
Coast district with a total AAC of
220,000 cubic metres. All ‘the

~ wood goes to InterFor’s sawmills

Ocelot port use up ©
with shipping deal

Ocelot Chemicals Inc. of Kitimat
has apparently found a way to
improve on the current 30 percent
utilization of their port facility
there. According to a report filed
with the Regional District of Kiti-
mat-Stikine, Ocelot has entered
into an agreement with Alberta
Envirofuels Inc. of Edmonton that
will, by the end of this year, sce
25 rail cars per day roll into their
Kitimat facility for storage and
subsequent loading onto tankers.

Envirofuels, a joint venture

between Petro-Canada Inc. and ©

Finland’s national oil company
Neste Oy, is presently building a
plant in Edmonton for the manu-
facture of methyl tertiary butyl
ether (MTBE). MTBE is a liquid
in its natural state and is used as
an octane booster for unleaded
gasoline. According to the Ocelot
report, "It offers a unique com-
bination of high octane value with
clean burning qualities and reduced
hydrocarbon emissions."

Ocelot presently manufactures
and exports 500,000 tonnes of
methanol and 200,000 tonnes of
ammonia annually. In addition,
Ocelot operates a terminal facility
for Celanese Canada which
handles an average of 260,000
tonnes of methanol annually. This
translates to an average of 72 ships

Integrated Resource

‘ visory Committee.

Service Office.

‘timber than the permit provides.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Public Involvement,

Thunderbird Forest Area

The Ministry of Forests, Kalum Forest District, in co-
operation with B.C. Environment, is holding a final, Ina
series of PUBLIC MEETIN
bird Integrated Resource Management Plan and the

Public Consultation Process.

The Forest Service will be asking the public to com-
ment on the management
final arrangements of the

A plan will be available on April 15, 1991 at the Forest

For further information contact:
Jim Culp, Project Facilitator,
Ministry of Forests
200 - 5220 Keith Avenue,

- Terrace, B.C., V8G 1L1
Phone:

in the south.

Under the permit InterFor will be |
allowed to export a maximum of
34,500 cubic metres of hemlock,
balsam and spruce until the end of
1991,

George Munson of Bear Creek
Contracting, the only Terrace
contractor working for InierFor,
said the export permit will make
sorhe difference, but not much.
"It'll ease the pain a little, but it’s
not what we expected,” he said.
InterFor had applied to export a
significantly larger volume of

Despite that, Munson said he
expects most of his employees to
be back on the job soon.

IF THE HELMET FITS... Students at Parkside Elementary School are getting involved in bicycle
safety by ordering custom-fitted helmets. School children are being offered the helmets at a
discount and Nicole Wilcox, being fitted here by Dave Walter from Sundance Ski and Sport, is one

per year at the Ocelot dock, of the youngsters who decided her head is worth protecting. Orders can still be placed up to

roughly one-third of their capacity. ‘Monday...

The annual Celanese methanol
shipments of 260,000 tonnes relate
to 20 methanol cars per day which
are switched in the Terrace CNR
yards before they continue on to.
Kitimat. The Envirofuels deal,
then, with 25 rail cars per day,
should better than equal Ocelot’s
arrangement with Celanese ©
Canada. Each rail car has a capa-
city of about 20,000 to 25,000
gallons.

Although all rail traffic destined
for Kitimat is switched in the
Terrace yards, MTBE is not con-
sidered any more dangerous than —
gasoline under the National Fire
Protection Agency classification.
Like gasoline, MTBE is considered
to pose a "serious" fire hazard and
it’s reaction to other materials is
tated “minimal”.

As far as a health hazard is con-
cerned, Ocelot says, “Toxicological
‘data for MTBE do not support
cause for significant concern for
human health in an occupational
environment. The primary adverse
effect of MTBE is a state of
anaesthesia. Very high concentra-
tions cause dizziness and ulti-
mately narcosis. Mortality can also
occur as a result of prolonged
exposures to very high levels."

Management Planning,

What is the School Board doing to
keep teachers here?

GS, to discuss the Thunder-

plan and contribute towards
Thunderbird Forest Area Ad-

638-3290 202 - 4721 Lazalle Avanua, Terrace, B.C. V8G 173