Saturday, August 15, 1998
Residents vow to continue battle against toxic waste
BY STEVE MACINNIS
Cape Breton Post
If municipal,
provincial and federal leaders expected the residents of Frederick Street
to go quietly into the night, they should think again.
"This is not
over and I know what I'm doing in my heart is right," said Juanita McKenzie,
one of the chief spokespersons for the F\residents who have taken on government
over the issue of contamination on their street.
Located approximately
some 300 metres from what many consider to be North America's worst toxic
industrial waste dump, Frederick Street, until recently was unknown to
most Cape Breton residents.
However, after
a strange goo was seen oozing from the bank of a brook running behind some
of the backyards last April, the street gained national attention.
The goo was
identified as arsenic and further soil samples indicated other chemicals
and metals were also present and some of the levels exceeded national standards.
Federal and
provincial health officials quickly ordered a health assessment study to
determine whether residents were at risk. Hair and blood samples
were taken.
This week
the residents were told there is no reason to fear any long term adverse
health effects.
"That is just
not acceptable. If this were another part of Sydney or Halifax, this
situation would not be allowed to continue," said McKenzie.
The residents
are now in the process of acquiring a lawyer, with the help of the Sierra
Club of Canada, and McKenzie said three independent toxicology companies
have been in contact with the residents offering their services.
"There are
more and more people who are coming out to support us. This is very
encouraging because this is just starting. The fight is just beginning."
The street
is near the which is now fenced in with signs posted
warning of a human health hazard. The area includes the tar ponds
which contain 7000,000 tonnes of toxic sludge left behind after nearly
a century of steel making.
A community
group - Joint Action Group (JAG) is now mandated to develop a remediation
strategy.
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Juanita McKenzie, spokesperson for Sierra Club