Cruise Related Reports
Costs & Benefits of Cruise Ship Visits
The stand.earth Report
“Cruise tourism in Victoria constituted nearly 12% of total number of visitors but cruise related tourists were responsible for less than 2% of tourism spending in the region”
The JBNA Reports
The “Costs and Benefits of Cruise Ship Visits” is the final pillar of the impact study of cruise tourism in Victoria. The “Victoria as a Port-of-Call” report examines both the economic impacts and the socio-environmental impacts of cruise ship calls at Ogden Point. The study uses a multiple accounts approach.
Emission Reports
Background
In 2006, the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), with the support of federal and provincial authorities, initiated a 3-year project using an advanced air quality monitoring system (CALPUFF). The project simulated the atmospheric dispersion of the pollution components emitted by cruise ships docked at Ogden Point. The components simulated included NOx, SOx, COx and particulate matter.
As a result of this project it was determined that a more detailed evaluation of the SO2 levels in the James Bay neighbourhood was required
In 2009, the BC Ministry of Environment (MoE) placed a mobile air monitoring laboratory (MAML) in the James Bay community. Analysis of 2009 data revealed levels of SO2 at three times the level predicted by the CALPUFF study. As a result, VIHA asked the BC Centre for Disease Control to assess the health risks associated with the cruise ship emissions.
Included in the report were the following points:
- “SO₂ exposure, especially at the higher levels recorded during the 10 minute intervals could plausibly cause wheezing and difficulty breathing in persons with asthma, and to a lesser degree, mild breathing problems in persons who do not have respiratory disease. These reactions are made more likely to occur during exercise, when deep breathing allows SO₂ to reach deeply into the lungs. Under these circumstances, not actively exercising would be protective.”
- “Staying indoors may reduce the effective exposure to peak levels on SO₂. SO₂ is a reactive gas, and reacts with people and building contents, thereby reducing its concentration in confined spaces such as in a house or apartment.”
- “In the opinion of Dr. Tom Kosatsky of BCCDC derived from his assessment of the existing limited scientific literature on the subject, there would be in the range of 0.4 to 1.6 excess deaths in a given cruise ship season.”
An outcome of this report was the installation of a single SO2 monitor at an Erie St. location in 2011. Upon installation of the monitor the SO2 levels were halved.
