Cloud of doubt hanging over Lafarge tire-burning plan

The large cement dust cloud that escaped the Truro Lafarge plant and descended on a lake two kilometers away did not reassure this typist that burning 900,000 tires in the plant is safe.

Lafarge and government officials assured the public that the large grey cloud consisted of limestone dust which is not hazardous. The problem was a loss in water supply used to dampen down limestone dust.

Honest mistake. But what if another honest mistake occurred at the Lafarge plant? What if, say, the thermostat went in the plant's kiln where the 900,000 tires will burn? If temperatures happened to fall during tire burning and combustion levels were not sufficient to scrub emissions of toxic dioxins and furans, they would be released into the environment.

The RRFB has approved burning tires at the Lafarge plant based on a study by the American Environmental Protection Agency. It is interesting to note that the study does not investigate the "honest mistake" scenario like the water supply problem which caused the cement dust cloud over the Lafarge plant this week.