Village News

Christmas Lights

230328 | St Ives Bay chemical dump a dangerous experiment, claim objectors; concerns the chemicals could be detrimental

St Ives Bay chemical dump a dangerous experiment, claim objectors

There are concerns that the chemicals could be detrimental to marine life in the area and make things worse

Canadian company Planetary Technologies wants to dump minerals in St Ives Bay as a way to fight climate change
Canadian company Planetary Technologies wants to dump minerals in St Ives Bay as a way to fight climate change

There are increasing concerns over plans by a Canadian company to dump minerals into the sea as a way to fight climate change. Planetary Technologies believes the minerals dump in the ocean could increase its alkalinity which in turn will remove CO2 from the atmosphere.

Over the next few months the company is looking to drop up to 300 tonnes of magnesium hydroxide in its mineral form, brucite, in St Ives Bay. Magnesium hydroxide is probably better known as the compound Milk of Magnesia, which is used as a laxative.

Despite efforts by the Canadian company to engage with the community with public meetings in Hayle and Truro, the news has divided opinion, with many welcoming the innovative bid to fight climate change but worried about any potential negative side effects.

 

Read next: Canadian company wants to dump tonnes of 'laxative' in St Ives Bay to fight climate change

 

Now a public protest by Keep our Sea Chemical Free - Save St Ives Bay, is to be held next month to protest against what many see as untested technology that could have detrimental effects on the area and its fauna and flaura. The group said its members are passionate about protecting our environment and helping to reach net zero. But not at the expense of our precious marine ecosystem.

A spokesman for the group said: "There is no understanding of what effect this will have on our local maritime ecosystem and marine life. There has been no environmental impact assessment. There has been a lack of consultation and transparency. This experiment in St Ives Bay has already been sold to international company Shopify as a carbon offsetting scheme. They are using us to claim they are helping the environment while carrying on with business as usual. There are legitimate questioned around the efficacy of this practice as a way of achieving net zero."

Planetary Technologies, based in Nova Scotia, said their approach is called ocean alkalinity enhancement, and uses an alkaline mineral to shift the pH value of the sea. Making the water more alkaline speeds up the natural way oceans lock CO2 away by neutralising dissolved CO2 and turning it into a salt.

The method also is understood to help reversing ocean acidification which is a threat to marine wildlife around the world such as coral reefs and other habitats. The company said it intends to add 0.007% of antacid to the existing the wastewater flow in Hayle throughout the period of 90 days. This should result in roughly 100 tonnes of net CO2 removal from the atmosphere.

Mike Kelland, CEO of Planetary Technologies, previously said that Cornwall is the perfect location to prove their theory.

He told ITV : “As that CO2 dissolves into the ocean it gives the ocean heartburn, our oceans are becoming more acidic, they’ve got this heartburn, over time the more CO2 goes up in the air.

"What we’re planning to do is give the ocean an antacid, like we’re giving the ocean a Rennie in a controlled way. Once it gets into the ocean it’s going to neutralise some of that acidic CO2. St Ives and the region around it are really interesting to us because they’re very shallow in terms of ocean depth and they allow some very turbulent mixing as well."

The Environment Agency has also expressed some concerns with the proposed scheme. A spokesman said that before giving the Canadian business the green light the firm would need to meet various conditions and produce the necessary environment impact assessment and also engage some more with concerned members of the public.

The spokesman said: "We are sympathetic to the innovative carbon capture scheme being proposed at Hayle Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) by South West Water and Planetary. But before we give the go-ahead we must ensure there will be no adverse impact on the receiving environment and marine life."

The public protest against the scheme will take place at Gwithian Towans, near Hayle on Sunday April 16 at at 2.30pm.

Environment Agency spokesman said: "We are sympathetic to the innovative carbon capture scheme being proposed at Hayle Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) by South West Water and Planetary. But before we give the go-ahead we must ensure there will be no adverse impact on the receiving environment and marine life."