Juxtapose Image 1. Site of the Arvida Aluminum Complex, 1925.
Juxtapose Image 2. Aerial photograph of Arvida Aluminum Complex, 1938.
Aluminum was perhaps the most important metallic alloy of the Second World War: as a lightweight, easily malleable and mass produced metal, it was used in everything from small goods and wartime products to airplanes (9). As such, a lot of effort went into sourcing and obtaining bauxite reserves, and transporting the bauxite to aluminum plants in Canada, “where it was smelted in vast complexes powered by hydroelectricity” (10). The Arvida Aluminum plant was essential to the production of aluminum during the Second World War: though it was constructed during the 1920s, it was heavily modified and expanded during the war in order to increase its production capabilities as well as its output (11). At its peak capacity, Arvida was providing up to 350,000 tonnes of aluminum every year, a massive increase from its previous 50,000 tonnes of aluminum, and continued to thrive after the war was over as the biggest aluminum production plant in existence at the time (12). It received hydroelectricity directly from the Shipshaw Dams: in fact, Shipshaw was constructed almost entirely for the purposes of providing more hydroelectricity to the Arvida plant to help increase their output (13). In this way, hydroelectricity and aluminum production during the war were intrinsically connected, and especially during the war years one often affected the other's rates of growth. Aluminum itself was vital to the war effort, and its importance cannot be overstated: hydroelectricity was often specifically diverted to aluminum processing plants in order to increase their output, especially as aluminum was crucial to constructing airplanes and their related functions in defense at home and abroad (14). There were few other materials that gained the same level of importance to the war effort as aluminum did.
At the same time, however, the full process of creating aluminum has always had a highly detrimental impact on the environments its base materials are extracted from and the environments in which it is produced. Multiple studies confirm this: the effects of extraction and production "razed forests, polluted rivers and release[d] polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons into the air during the smelting process" (15), and other studies highlight the “extensive deforestation around mining sites, the degradation of surrounding agricultural lands, the pollution of local water supplies, [and] the emissions of greenhouse gasses and other pollutants from refineries and smelters” (16). Extracting bauxite (the base alloy that creates aluminum) is itself highly dangerous, toxic, and destructive upon the environment: the primary method of extraction is strip mining which devastates the landscape, and often produces respiratory risks through its dust or the harmful emissions produced through burning, and poses a risk of contaminating nearby water sources (17). While this discussion will not focus on the extraction of bauxite as most of Canada's supply during the war came from other countries, it is important to note that the process of extraction had and continues to have a devastating impact on the environments in which these processes take place, further compounded by the exploitation of both the land the bauxite is taken from as well as its peoples.
As mentioned above, issues around constructing facilities will always offer problems in terms of disruption to the environment and the introduction of foreign or potentially harmful materials. While construction of course poses the same kinds of risk for aluminum smelting facilities, it is the actual smelting and processing of aluminum that pose a greater threat. Some aluminum smelting processes will produce a ‘red mud’, a compound that is highly toxic, not easily stored, and has the potential to contaminate water sources if there are any leaks caused by improper or damaged storage (18). There is also the risk of industrial runoff, as one study takes note (19). If aluminum was a popular alloy during the war, it has become even more so today, and as more of it is produced, waste products such as red mud increase at the same pace. Other toxins and hazards such as those mentioned above also increase at the same rate. According to the slogan on their website, Alcan (the owner and developer of the Arvida plant) today has committed to developing and following safer and environmentally sustainable practices (20). Yet the history of such things shows that oftentimes if rules or regulations were not in place or did not exist at the time, there wasn’t much corporate consideration for them. This means that until Alcan committed to this course of action, it is unlikely there was much concern for conserving the environment in the pursuit of profit and mass production.
The set of pictures above showcases the Arvida site in 1925 before the processing plant was constructed, and again in 1938 just before the Second World War began. While the initial construction was finished and the aluminum plant established well before the war began, the juxtaposition of these photos demonstrates the impacts of construction upon the land, and that the growing importance of aluminum led to the expansion of the plant and, then the industry, in the first place. Arvida was the biggest aluminum plant in existence at the time the war began, and because of this quickly became established as the primary supplier of aluminum in Canada, and one of the biggest suppliers of aluminum to the Allied war effort. Had Arvida not been so well established at the time war broke out, it is unlikely that the facility would have become as notable as it did. The fact that most of the machinery and facilities needed were already set up at Arvida, coupled with its strategic position close to the Saguenay River, made it an obvious first choice for development. It was considered so important that its need for power led directly to construction of the Shipshaw Dams, allowing the plant to increase production swiftly and effectively over the course of the war. The pictures below showcase the Arvida Aluminum plant in 1945 as the war drew to a close, and again a few decades afterwards. Arvida was not only important to maintaining aluminum production during the war, it was also extremely vital to the development of the aluminum industry in the decades afterwards. It remained the largest aluminum processing facility for some time after the war ended, and even after its size and capabilities were surpassed, it was still considered important to maintaining the aluminum industry generally. At the same time that Arvida played an integral role in maintaining aluminum production for the war effort and helping to cement the establishment of the industry in the years after it ended, it also contributed a number of harmful and toxic side effects from its processing techniques and from the construction that took place as the plant was sporadically updated and expanded, and continues to do so today. Alcan has pledged itself to more environmentally sustainable practices, but this has only occurred recently and after decades wherein the effects of these practices and construction upon the surrounding environment were left to do as they would. Be that as it may, Arvida was instrumental in providing a surplus of aluminum to the many factories and interested parties that requested it, including those that constructed one of the most vital elements to defense: airplanes.
Image 3. Arvida History Center, & Digital Cultural Plan of Quebec. Arvida Aluminium Complex. Arvida Aluminium Complex - Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec (gouv.qc.ca).
Image 4. Arvida History Center, & Digital Cultural Plan of Quebec. Arvida Aluminium Complex - Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec (gouv.qc.ca).
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