Snowmobile Water Pollution During the Spring Thaw

SNOWMOBILES CAN BE BIG POLLUTERS A form of pollution in North America, direct pollution into fresh water, is caused by personal watercraft, PWC’s or those SeaDoos that some refer too. This is true we know because of the emission of the unburned fuel from 2-stroke motors that goes directly into the water. Yes, but don’t forget snowmobiles. Why? The average person is familiar with both of these types of recreational machines that zoom over our freshwater lakes summer and winter. We know that they emit a generally high-ranking form of noise pollution but there is also air pollution that we see and smell. We often see that acrid grey-blue smoke that haze that lingers long after the snow machine has passed. Air-borne pollution has another environmental factor, more alarming, because it is unseen and unknown to the general public both for PWC’s and snow machines, especially older models. Much of the fuel is left unburned and emitted out the tail pipe. In the case of snowmobiles the air pollution lands and becomes part of the snowpack. This has further serious negative consequences for fresh water lakes during the spring thaw. To most of the general public, especially those that enjoy the outdoor environment, we can see that due to the increase in All Terrain Vehicles, ATV’s, PWC’s and snowmobile activity in the last decade, the environment has been heavily compromised. The ‘Ontario Snowmobiling by the Numbers Report, September 3rd, 2006’ claims that there are now approximately 165,000 family members of the Ontario Federation of Snowmobilers alone. What they don’t report but the Environmental Protection Agency does is that snowmobiles emit a number of pollutants, including aldehydes, 1, 3-butadiene, benzene, toluene and xylene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These pollutants can be carcinogenic and negatively affect the nervous system. According to estimates from the Native Forest Organization about 20 tons of hydrocarbons and 54 tons of Carbon Monoxide may be emitted on an average day during a peak weekend (700 snowmobiles) One hour on a typical snowmobile produces more pollution than driving a modern car for a year. Based on the poor design of the 2-stroke motor and its fuel-burning inefficiency, it is estimated that 25-40 percent of the gasoline and oil are dumped directly out the tail pipe. Many environmentalists believe that there are severe ramifications from the 2-stroke engine that the average person, perhaps even the drivers of these machines themselves, don’t realize. This could explain why they are not yet banned. Where are the studies that examine emissions from snowmobiles? There have been few, notably those done in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming in recent years after the 2004-2005 Winter Season. This research is due in part to the controversy over the Bush administration reversal of a hard-fought ban by environmentalist over many years, on snowmobiles in the park. The air had since become so toxic to park gate attendants that they insisted on gas masks as part of staff uniform requirements. However, much more recently there has been an interesting study conducted by Reimann, S, R Kallenborn and N Schmidbauer in the Arctic and published by Environmental Health News, June 24th, 2009. It informs us that peak levels of aromatic hydrocarbons in Longyearbyen (Svalbard) a remote community, are so high during snowmobile season that they are close to levels of the same pollutants in Zurich, Switzerland – a major city with close to 400,000 people. “As there are only 540 snowmobiles with 2-stroke engines registered in Longyearbyen, it is clear that a small number of snowmobiles can have a big impact on the amount of airborne pollutants.” It is worth pointing out that people fail to appreciate the disaster this ‘dump’ of toxic waste creates annually. It is hard to see. It is therefore difficult to attach blame to the machines which exact this intolerable pollution. This is call for alarm, more importantly in North America due to our vast geographical expanse of fresh water ecosystems. There is a potential for these pollutants to affect nearby surface waters during snowmelt and spring runoff. Scientists like Peter Landrum, of the Great Lakes Research laboratory, believe that fuel deposited by snowmobiles over the winter months become locked into the snowpack. Especially on the temporary man-made lake trails, that are customarily created all over our northern communities, the toxic affects of the accumulated pollutants magnify during the first few days of spring when they are released during snowmelt. There is a condition called phototoxicity, where tiny organisms absorb chemicals, from the ejected unburned fuel, making them sensitive to light. Simple daylight can easily kill the organisms. This annual disaster, that has gone unchecked for decades, during the time of spawning of most aquatic life which feed on these organisms, can be potentially felt all the way up the food chain. To date Canada, one of the leading manufacturers of snowmobiles, has yet to ban 2-stroke engines.Due to the alleged ‘big-spending’ impact that these machines bring to the tourism regions it is the motorized-recreational vehicle industry that presently has the government’s ear. Is this the reason why the industry’s attempts to divert meaningful discussion on the subject have thus far succeeded? I have repeatedly tried to make the present Canadian government aware of the situation. All attempts to bring attention to the need to clamp down on 2-stroke engines in snowmobiles, to government bodies I.e. To the several recently appointed Canadian Environment Ministers has brought lame response. I, personally have contacted the Federal Industry Minister, Tony Clement on several occasions but to date have received unsatisfactory responses such as, and “I understand and appreciate your comments...and will take those views into consideration, as I do the views of all my constituents.” He goes on to elaborate about the economic benefit of the snowmobiling industry to the region. Granted there are economic benefits but it reminds me of the same arguments the tobacco industry used to baffle the public for 20-odd years before we became aware of the seriousness of the situation. Savvy environmentalists believe that there is an urgent need to overturn the blind eye of all governments at all levels. They are spreading the word, for example, a tax-the-polluters policy is becoming more the main-stream policy of political parties. Any government in power can enact such a policy with the stroke of a pen. On a positive note, as a result of lobbying, environmentalists have put pressure on all four major manufacturers of the snowmobile industry to make machines with four-stroke engines. They have also pushed for machines that have cleaner options such as installation of proper jets that can be adjusted at different altitudes to improve engine performance. Organizations such as the Montana Department of Environmental Quality have a number of suggestions like adjusting the snowmobiles for local conditions, the use of oxygenated fuels and the use of low emission lube oils. Low impact; biodegradable lubricant gasohol can be used instead of petroleum-based products for all motorized recreational vehicles especially snowmobiles, PWC’s and ATV’s. Let’s not forget that, based on the north’s geographical terrain, it is hard not to find a fresh-water ecosystem, be it lake, river or marshland, over which the operators of these machines traverse. As Canada gets ready to host the G8 Summit in Muskoka, Ontario in June 2010 it may want to investigate more solutions or an all-out ban on the 2-stroke engine as a means for motorized recreation. As the World’s eyes are upon Canada we can hope to assume a leadership role. We can create policies to reduce our carbon footprint as well as our carbon snowprint. We must alleviate this form of water pollution in our very own backyards.