Residents waiting for test results
BY STEVE MACINNIS

Cape Breton Post

Soil samples are continuing to be collected this week in Whitney Pier to determine the extent of arsenic contamination.
Wayne Pierce, spokesperson for a newly-formed monitoring committee, said Thursday, samples are being turned in daily to the lab at the University College of Cape Breton for analysis.
He said it's hoped a final report will be ready to present to residents sometime in early July.
In addition to sampling, three monitoring wells have also been drilled and Pierce, spokesperson for Environment Canada here in Cape Breton, said lab staff are working overtime to meet the tight committee-imposed deadline.
Meanwhile residents of Frederick Street are planning to meet next week to plot their next round of strategy.
Resident spokesperson Juanity MacKenzie said residents are tired of waiting and want action.
The problem centers on elevated levels of arsenic and other metals found in soil samples taken from a brook bank. The results have residents nervous especially since they live near North America's worst toxic waste dump - Sydney tar ponds.
Since the release of the initial results, residents have been asked to keep children and pets away from the brook.
According to the results, arsenic levels are 18.5 times higher than acceptable limits established by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The recommended CCME level is 12 and the level found on Frederick Street is 222.55.
Arsenic levels on the nearby railbed were three times higher than recommended levels.
Frederick Street borders the north side of the former coke ovens site which is part of the . The area is now fenced in with signs warning of human health hazard.
The most toxic part of the watershed is the tar ponds - 700,000 tonnes of highly toxic sludge left behind after nearly a century of steel making.
Next Article


Contact Juanita McKenzie, official spokesperson for Frederick Street Group
Contact Muggah Creek
1