NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – The prospect of tonnes of coal being transferred onto barges near their neighbourhood had a couple of hundred people pack a New Westminster auditorium Thursday night.

The panel consisted of reps from Metro Vancouver, Port Metro Vancouver, Fraser Surrey Docks, and Fraser Health.

People were invited to ask questions, but many with concerns about the project, and specifically about the potential for coal dust, came away skeptical.

Fraser Surrey Docks is issuing reassurances the facility along the Fraser River will be relatively dust free. It insists the coal transferring will happen under a covered structure, and the coal itself will be sprayed to minimize dust.

Mark Gordienko, president of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union told the crowd local workers have been handling coal safely for 40 years. He says dust is a non-issue.

“The coal will be sprayed. There will be a minimal amount of dust. The facility itself is closed in. It will be well-ventilated. The whole system is enclosed until it gets onto the barges. It will be sprayed again once it travels on the barges.”

Another man echoed the fears of others, who suspect the project is just the tip of the iceberg.

“They are going to start with two million metric tonnes per year, then they will bump it up to eight million, which is the current limit for the facility permitted by Port Metro Vancouver. And then they’ll ask for a greater capacity. That’s going to be a major coal terminal unless we stop it now,” he says.

The plans call for American coal to be transferred from trains to barges at the docks on the Fraser, before it’s ultimately shipped to Asia.

Metro Vancouver, which must approve the air permit for the project, will tackle the issue in two weeks.