Northern Ont. residents concerned about new plastic plant
A new plastic plant has opened on industrial land on Wallace Road in North Bay, Ont.
It is called Industrial Plastics Canada (IPC) and remanufactures plastics.
Following a viral TikTok video, some citizens have expressed concerns about the chemicals – specifically polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAs – being produced at the plant.
"Environment Canada, you know their litmus for what is safe exposure to PFAs, I think is like 30 nanograms per litre. And I think that the North Bay and the municipal area is already like 60," said James Loafs, the environmental activist who posted the video about the new plant.
"So is bringing in another PFAs plant at this point really -- or you know anything to do with PFAs at all -- in the North Bay area, is that really a smart thing to do? I would say 'no.'"
The video has been viewed more than 400,000 times on the popular social media app since it was posted four days ago.
The city is turning down any concerns people have and said the new plant is the same as any other already built.
"It’s no different than any other plant we presently have in North Bay or anywhere in northern Ontario," said North Bay mayor Peter Chirico.
"With everything that is required to be done, they’ve been following the letter of the law."
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
Area residents said they worry that the lakes in the area and municipal water will be affected by the plant.
"There is no discharge from the factory whatsoever. As a matter of fact, they’re not even hooked up to sewage," said Chirico.
"So there’s no effluent that will be discharged. They have their separate bed, which is inspected, which must be tested, all of these types of things."
No one from IPC was made available for an interview with CTV News, but the company president issued a statement.
"The North Bay IPC facility boasts state-of-the-art processes that are entirely enclosed and fully recyclable, resulting in zero environmental impact," the statement reads in part.
"No water from our manufacturing process is discharged into any lakes, streams or other bodies of water. Additionally, no material waste is produced during the process."
The company says that the Ministry of the Environment has been to the plant and everything was deemed safe and approved.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.