Dick Chapman
Toronto Sun
May 22, 2001
Canada’s major oil refineries are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to rid themselves of the well-deserved reputation of producing North America’s dirtiest gasoline.
Canadian lawmakers have already given refiners a Jan. 1, 2005, deadline to lower sulphur content by 97%.
The Irving Oil Co. has already achieved part of that requirement with a $1-billion retrofit of its New Brunswick refinery.
Petro-Canada plans to spend up to $450 million at three refineries – Montreal, Oakvile and Edmonton – to get sulphur out of its gasoline.
Imperial Oil is planning to spend $500 million to upgrade four refineries across Canada.
Low-sulphur gasoline would reduce summertime asthma attacks in Ontario, says Tom Adams of Energy Probe.
Sulphur clogs high-tech sensors that control fuel combustion in auto engines, he says. Incomplete combustion causes smog.
More than 5,000 premature deaths in Canada last year can be attributed to air pollution, says Environment Canada. In Toronto, more than 1,000 people die prematurely each year.
Energy Probe 