Dear Editor:

By way of reference, I am the person that permitted over 600 used oil furnace installations in Ontario and, with the help a co-worker set out the appendix on used oil in the CSA B1329 oil burner code. The MOE used to refer to me as the ‘guru’ of used oil.

I have no vested interest in this at this time but, with the knowledge I have, I am disturbed at the misrepresentation, and the outright lies being put forth.

If you are interested in getting a few basic facts I can dig up my archives and help. This is just wrong. Used oil furnaces put out less VOCs than natural gas and burn cleaner than #2 fuel furnaces in terms of carbon emissions because of the superior atomization method.

They put out less emissions than a new automobile going down the 401 and about half the ash of a wood fireplace.

In general, 12-20 times more furnaces can be installed in a building than is required to heat it and still meet emissions standards.

The point here is, and I know what I am talking about, this is not an environmental issue – this is corruption of the highest order. It is using the environment, which I consider sacred, for political and financial gain at the people’s expense.

In 1988, a moratorium was introduced and the cry from the furnace industry then was ‘raise the bar.’

If the MOE was really concerned about environmental issues around these furnaces, the standard could be set out with a five-year grace period, similar to what the EPA does for diesel engines.

If an incentive was provided with the use of standards, ash could be practically eliminated. This could result in a unit that is equal to or superior to any other fuel furnace on the market.

Every truck owner should be angry at Safety-Kleen.

We expect corruption from government but when it is from a Texas-based company it is time to act.

If we cannot get fair treatment from our elected government, then let the culprit who lobbied and paid for this rip-off pay.

Lloyd Clare

Via e-mail