AIR QUALITY

LNG terminals compress, chill and liquefy unconventional gas pose concerns around local air quality on the coast. The liquefaction process requires large amounts of energy and the BC Government has indicated they will allow future LNG terminals – including the three proposed for Kitimat – to burn unconventional natural gas to power the compressors (called “direct drive”).  

These three proposed plants would burn the equivalent of 2.5 times the amount of gas burned in Greater Vancouver annually, or 60% of all the unconventional gas burned in the entire province of BC each year.

Kitimat has a confined airshed and is already set to have a significant increase in SO2 emissions from the Rio Tinto Alcan upgrade. One of the most concerning toxins is Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), which adversely affects human and animal respiratory systems and, when combined with water vapor, causes acid rain.



Related Resources


Air Advisory: The Air Quality Impacts of Liquefied Natural Gas Operations Proposed for Kitimat BC

SkeenaWild Conservation Trust | 2013

This report quantifies the air quality impacts of the three LNG facilities currently proposed for Kitimat, assuming the proponents proceed with their preferred direct-drive technology. The report also suggests strategies and solutions that would reduce the contaminants associated with direct-drive LNG production.