Island Asphalt, which operates the plant on Store Street, is producing paving material 24 hours a day for two major projects on the Pat Bay Highway
Strong odours of petroleum wafting over parts of Victoria and Saanich over the past several days are being blamed on an asphalt plant on Victoria’s Upper Harbour, which is producing paving material 24 hours a day for major highway projects.
Complaints are pouring in on social media and in emails to theTimes Colonistabout residents having to close their windows on hot nights this week. Some are saying the pungent smells are causing sleepless nights, nausea, respiratory problems and other health issues.
OK Industries, the parent company of Island Asphalt, which operates the plant on Store Street, said Thursday it is aware of the complaints.
Chief operations manager Andrew Duncan said the company is now operating two shifts at the plant. The night operations are producing asphalt for two major projects on the Pat Bay Highway — one at Ravine Way near Saanich Municipal Hall and another for a stretch of the highway near the Swartz Bay ferry terminal.
The night shift runs from 7:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Duncan said the Transportation Ministry requires that paving for those projects be done at night so traffic is not disrupted on the route.
He expects the 24-hour operation to continue for three to four more weeks. The company also expects to get another night-time paving contract in August for the new flyover on the Pat Bay. That paving schedule is expected in the next few weeks.
“The main reason we’re making asphalt at night is the Ministry of Transportation projects that specify we have to work at night,” said Duncan.
Tiffany Gartner-Bouffard, who lives in the Hillside-Quadra area, said she’s noticed the “choking” odour over the past several weeks. She said it typically starts around 7 p.m. and lasts well into the night.
Social-media posts say black smoke has been seen coming from the asphalt plant in the evening hours.
“Whatever is going on, it must stop,” Gartner-Bouffard said. “This problem has never appeared before.”
Duncan said the company is not “cutting corners” to produce more asphalt, as some on social media have suggested, and has not changed anything in its manufacturing process.
“What we are doing now that we are receiving these complaints is we’re investigating if there have been any changes at the refineries that produce our liquid asphalt,” said Duncan. “I can’t confirm or deny that anything has changed. If there have been changes, then we will try to mitigate the best we can so we can help reduce the odour.”
Asphalt is manufactured at the plant by mixing sand and gravel with liquid bitumen, a thick petroleum-based binder, at high temperatures.
Hot asphalt from the plant is loaded onto trucks and delivered in pliable form to the paving crews for spreading and packing.
Duncan did not say how much asphalt is being manufactured each night at the harbour plant, but said 12 trucks are hauling continuously “in a train” from about 9 p.m. until early morning.
He said the day shift at the plant manufactures asphalt for municipalities and private paving contractors.
Hannah Johnson, who lives in the Quadra-Finlayson area, said her household is getting an “extremely strong” smell of asphalt nearly every evening starting at about 7 and continuing through the night.
“The fumes permeate the house even if we close all doors and windows, turn on all exhaust fans, and run air filters,” Johnson said.
She said her partner, who suffers from various disabilities, is feeling stomach pains, headaches and irritated eyes, nose and throat — even after buying a respirator.
Johnson said they have even taken to nighttime drives to escape the odour, and are sleep-deprived. The couple has also considered staying in hotels, but can’t afford the cost, and lately have considered moving to a new area of the city.
“It’s just hours of torture and feeling sick,” she said.
At some point, the province and the city “have to put people’s health first,” said Johnson.
Duncan said the company is “very apologetic” about the smell. He said paving season almost always happens in the summer, when people have their windows open, and evening breezes can carry petroleum odours.
“This is an unfortunate situation, but […] to move forward as a city, the roads have to be paved. The flyover at Keating, for example — these are projects that help save lives and have to happen.”
Duncan said the company will do its best to try to mitigate the smell.
“If there are any measures we can take to improve things, we’re going to take them,” he said.
“We’ve been around for over 60 years, a long-standing company that has served Victoria and the whole of Vancouver Island, and we are proud of our reputation. We never cut a corner and we never will.”
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