The Swan Hills rotary kiln (15) incinerators have for many years been Canada's only permanent facility for the disposal of high-level PCB waste. In 1998, more PCB waste was incinerated than in any previous year.(16) Annual capacity is for 53 000 tonnes of hazardous wastes.(9) Here is a chronology of recent events:

On October 16, 1996, a mechanical failure to one incinerator caused a major release of PCBs and dioxin,(2) resulting in the laying of six charges by the Alberta government.(17)

On December 13, 1996, the Provincial Health Officer issued a health advisory against eating wild game from within a 30 km radius of the plant,(18) and during the same month, Environment Canada advised federal departments against sending hazardous waste to Swan Hills (19)(advice withdrawn in 1999(13)).

On July 21, 1997, an explosion in the other incinerator forced it to be shut down as well,(17) and the Alberta government warned that PCBs and dioxin may have been released.(20)

On August 26, 1997, Professor David Schindler of the University of Alberta released a report which concluded the Swan Hills incinerators had been contaminating the region with PCBs and dioxin for years prior to these accidents.(21)

On October 22, 1998, Bovar was fined $625 000, the highest environmental penalty ever imposed in Alberta, as a result of the 1996 charges.(13,22)

Currently, only the larger incinerator is operating, the smaller one having been shut indefinitely in March 1998.(23) Other hazards associated with the facility include a disposal well for liquid waste and a landfill for incinerator ash,(24) found to be leaking in 1992;(9) and the ongoing threat from forest fires, which forced two evacuations of the town of Swan Hills in May 1998.(25)



PCBs and other chlorinated POPs must be eliminated from the environment, as called for by the Toxic Substances Management Policies adopted by the federal government and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Destruction of PCB stockpiles should be carried out as soon as possible by a processes which avoid the fundamental flaws of incineration (see above). Such non-incineration destruction projects must have:

Effectively 100% destruction efficiency;

Complete containment of all residues;

No uncontrolled releases;

Full involvement by all affected communities;

A clearly delimited time period of operation.

The federal and/or Alberta governments should take urgent measures to stop the burning of POPs and other chlorinated wastes at Swan Hills.


1.An Assessment of Fugitive PCB Emissions, Prepared for Alberta Special Waste Management System, Clearstone Engineering, Ltd., June 9, 1995. Bovar has since claimed that fugitive emissions have been considerably reduced (see ref. 2).

2.Transformer Furnace Incident, Bovar Inc. press release, December 19, 1996.

3.Results of Swan Hills Air Monitoring Released, Government of Alberta News Release, July 25, 1997.

4.Copy of presentation given at community meeting by CanTox Inc., under cover letter from Gina Zsombor, Communications Consultant, Alberta Environmental Protection, dated February 28, 1997.

5.Wild Game Public Health Advisory Downgraded, Government of Alberta News Release, May 15, 1997. See "Questions and Answers" #12,13.

6.Dioxins and Furans and Hexachlorobenzene Inventory of Releases, Prepared by Environment Canada and the Federal/Provincial Task Force on Dioxins and Furans, January 1999, page 3-20. Available at http://www.ec.gc.ca/dioxin/
english/index.htm.

7.Annual Report 1998, Bovar Inc., page 1.

8.Ref. 7, page 23.

9.Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 1997, page A4.

10.Alberta Taxpayers Receive Only $23,600 Return on $441 Million Investment in Swan Hills, Alberta Liberal Caucus News release, September 3, 1997.

11.Plan d'élimination des BPC dont le MEF a la garde, communiqué du ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune (Québec), February 11, 1998.

12.The Gazette, Montreal, December 5, 1998, page A9.

13.Edmonton Journal, January 21, 1999, page A5.

14.Projet d'usine de production de magnésium par Métallurgie Magnola inc., à Asbestos, Rapport d'enquête et d'audience publique, Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, Québec, Québec, 1998, page 133. ISBN 2-550-32604-0.

15.Alberta Environmental Protection Approval No. 95-IND-237, November 30, 1995, pages 1-2.

16.Ref. 7, page 10.

17.Edmonton Journal, April 20, 1998, page A6.

18.Public Health Advisory, Government of Alberta News Release, December 13, 1996. This advisory was later weakened (see ref. 5).

19.Calgary Herald, August 13, 1997, page A1.

20.Swan Hills Waste Treatment Centre Explosion Investigation Continues Nature of Fugitive Emissions Being Examined, Government of Alberta News Release, July 23, 1997.

21.Calgary Herald, August 27, 1997, page A3.

22.Judge penalizes Swan Hills facility operator, Government of Alberta News Release, October 23, 1998.

23.Ref. 7, page 9; ref. 6.

24.Waste treatment plant puts Swan Hills on international environmental map, http://www.town.swan-hills.ab.ca/aswt.html, accessed August 5, 1999.

25.Ref. 7, page 9.