Frederick Street
residents want clean-up work stopped BY STEVE MACINNIS Cape Breton Post
August 25, 1998 While provincial
government officials are anxious to resume demolition and clean-up work
on the former coke ovens site, the residents of Frederick Street in Sydney
want the work halted until they are relocated. Gary Campbell,
director of enterprise development for the provincial Transportation and
Public Works Department, said Monday a meeting this week with federal and
provincial Environment Department officials will indicate when the work
can resume. "Hopefully,
that will be soon," he said. But Juanita
mcKenzie, spokesperson for the residents, said they will disrupt any return
to work on the site until the issue of their relocation is resolved. The residents
are in the process of having their own independent health study done and
are in negotiations with a lawyer regarding a possible civil suit against
the province. They are demanding
to be relocated fearing health problems are a result of work on the site
that will continue to release any number of cancer causing chemicals into
the air. The $400,000
project involves the demolition of several buildings on the former coke
ovens sites in addition to reclaiming tonnes of sulphur, coke and coal
left behind from steel making. The steel plant now uses electricity
to make steel rails. The clean-up
site is heavily contaminated after nearly a century of unregulated steel
making. For decades there was no control over dumping of byproducts,
chemicals and a host of other agents used in the process. The site is
about 300 metres from Frederick Street and when the project began earlier
this summer, residents began complaining of headaches, sore eyes and throats,
as well as trouble breathing. The work was
halted until the completion of a government-commissioned health study which
concluded that while the soil in and around Frederick Street is contaminated,
residents have nothing to fear from any long term exposure. Campbell said
the department has installed special air monitors on the street and will
meet with residents prior to resuming the job. He said a
meeting with environment officials will determine how the project will
proceed. He estimates there is about one month's work left. "We think
it's better to get that stuff out of there than to have it sitting around,"
said Campbell, adding extensive testing on the coal and coke have found
both products suitable for resale. The roads
used to haul from the site have been covered with slag and water trucks
will be stationed on site which Campbell said further reduces dust from
blowing around the neighborhood. McKenzie said
residents no longer trust government and feel the departments involved
in the project are not working in the best interests of local residents.
