Province to examine source of potential new harmful greenhouse gas emissions

The British Columbian government is hoping to get a handle on the province's emissions of a greenhouse gas that is 17,200 times more harmful than carbon dioxide and commonly used to manufacture everyday electronics.

Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) is a colourless, odourless, non flammable gas used in the manufacturing of high tech goods, especially liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and thin solar panels.

"It's one of the most potent [greenhouse gases] that we know of," said Tim Lesiuk, executive director and chief negotiator for the B.C. Climate Action Secretariat, a branch of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

'Negligible' emissions

A 2016 B.C. greenhouse gas inventory called emission levels of NF3 'negligible' but as concerns about the gas increase globally and better detection methods become available, the province is making moves to track and measure the data to a higher standard.

A government request for proposal posted in early January states that the ministry is seeking a report that will summarize B.C's NF3 emissions in each greenhouse gas producing sector, develop a methodology for quantifying those emissions and draft a comparison of B.C's NF3 levels to other jurisdictions.

The province is also looking for information on costs of different techniques used to mitigate the release of the gas.

The amount of NF3 B.C. and even Canada produces is very little, according to Lesiuk, "But because it is so potent and it remains in the atmosphere so long, you want to make sure it isn't escaping," he explained to Gregor Craigie, host of CBC's On the Island.

Because of a push to grow the high tech sector by both the federal and provincial governments, there is a chance those emissions could actually increase as demand for solar cells and semiconductors for cellphones and laptops grows, according to Lesiuk.

"We expect some of this gas is going to increase, so now is a good time to be looking at alternatives to its use and how we can minimize the amount that actually gets released into the atmosphere," he said.

'It is a little ironic'

NF3 was originally thought to be a safe alternative to other gases but after years of research the dangers of using the gas have become more clear.

"Scientists originally couldn't detect much of it in the atmosphere when they were looking at global warming gases," Lesiuk said.

"It is a little ironic. A lot of work went into trying to find gases that can be used to make things like solar panels and semiconductors that weren't greenhouse gases, because we used to use other gases that we discovered did contribute to global warming and we changed," he added.

NF3 has been added to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and Lesiuk noted that China and California are actively seeking alternatives to the gas.

With files from CBC Radio One's On the Island