Stink makes a strong case
November 20, 1998
To the Editor:
On Saturday, November 7, I went on a tour with my 4-H Club to see the tar ponds and the hazardous waste incinerator. The tour was given by George Hennick and Brenda Tattrie of Sydney Environmental Resources on their day off from work.
This was my first time to the tar ponds.. Even though it was a chilly day, it still stunk - I had to go back and sit in the van because the smell made me feel sick to my stomach. I feel sorry for the people who have to live and work around there, especially in the summer time.
We were told that some of the stuff in the tar ponds - not the PCBs of course - can be burned safely. Why can't they start burning it in the hazardous waste incinerator instead of letting it sit stinking up the city and contaminating our fish and the poor ducks, seagulls and other birds that land there.
It would sure be better to see the tar ponds sludge burned than to have it sit there forever.
After the SERL tour, we drove up Frederick Street to see the coke ovens and the landfill which is all part of the . I couldn't believe that people could actually stand living so close to that landfill. That stunk too.
I really enjoyed the tour and learned a whole lot about the environment and why we should take care of it. Sometimes I wonder if humans have gone too far. But I hope that someday we will find a way to clean the whole mess up.
I am only 12 years old and I can recognize the problems here. I hope more people get involved to fight for a cleanup.
Yours truly,
Diane A. Morrison, 12
Rising Sun 4-H Club
Burn toxic gunk
December 3, 1998
To the editor:
This past Saturday, my fellow 4-H members and I had the opportunity to go on a tour of the tar ponds which was given by George Hennick and Brenda Tattrie of Sydney Environmental Resources Limited. I think they are doing a good educational community service by doing these tours for people like me on their weekends off.
When I protested the burial of the tar ponds two-and-a-half years ago, I never imagined that they would still be sitting there untouched. I thought that maybe the cleanup would have at least been started by now; especially since there are hazardous waste incinerators that could safely burn everything but the PCBs in those ponds. We couldn't believe it when we saw the incinerator sitting there - millions of dollars of taxpayers' money doing nothing. The tar ponds could have been at least 1/4 cleaned up in the last two years if they had started burning that stuff two-and-a-half years ago instead of talking about covering up the tar ponds.
I hear people say that it will be at least two years more before JAG makes a decision on how to clean up the . That's too long. Two years have already passed, and then two more will pass and the tar ponds will still be sitting there.
Each day we wait to get the toxic waste cleaned up there are thousands of tons of waste leaking out into the harbor for all the marine life to eat.
I can just imagine me when I'm nearing my 40's reading that some new high-tech toxic waste group is finally deciding on a way to clean up our toxic mess, and I hear myself telling my kids that when I was their age I was trying to get the government to give enough money to get it cleaned up.
Two-and-a-half years have passed since my 4-H club and I asked the government not to bury the tar ponds, to test the ponds to see what's in there. Why can't they do an environmental assessment now and then burn that stuff?
If adults don't want my generation to have to deal with this mess when we get older, then I beg the adults of today to please help us get this toxic monster cleaned up by speaking out.
Yours truly,
Jennifer Morrison, 14
Rising Sun 4-H Achievers
Experts say burning sludge safe
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