DATE Wed 16 Jun 1999
EDITION FINAL
SECTION/CATEGORY Cape Breton
PAGE NUMBER3
BYLINETanya Collier
STORY LENGTH 333
HEADLINE:
Laurier Street family intends to stay in Sydney hotel
A Laurier Street resident will not return to her home until she is
forced.
``I'm staying until the law puts me out,'' said Ann Ross, who is
living at a Sydney hotel. She was included in the provincial
government's decision to temporarily relocate several Frederick
Street residents after arsenic was found seeping into the
basements of their Whitney Pier homes.
Environment Minister Michel Samson said the offer was made out of
compassion for the residents.
Ross was told by her Halifax lawyer to remain at the hotel until
she no longer could.
Once she is forced out, she will have to return home.
``Then there is nothing I can do. I have no choice, I have a
13-year-old daughter.''
Also, Ross will not be included in a voluntary buyout offer
presented to 24 families living on Frederick Street and Curry's
Lane.
``They are toying with our lives.''
Ross said she is concerned about her family's health.
``It's very stressful. It's hard on me and it's hard on my
daughter.''
Terry MacPherson, hydrogeologist with the Nova Scotia Department
of the Environment, sent a letter to Ross Saturday informing her
water samples taken from her basement revealed no traces of
contaminants. The metals found are likely associated with natural
soil conditions or fill used around her basement.
MacPherson said the former coke ovens site - believed to be the
source of contamination in Frederick Street homes - is not the
source of the arsenic found in her basement.
``If it's not related to the coke oven site, the homeowner has to
deal with it.''
The level of arsenic found in Ross's home on Laurier Street
registered at 49.9 mg/kg, the same level found to be seeping from
a rail bed running near Frederick Street.
``If she stops the water from entering her basement, all her
problems will be solved,'' said MacPherson.
_
There is one street separating Laurier Street from Frederick
Street, which has received national attention because of
contamination found in homes, soil and water.
PUBLICATIONCape Breton Post
DATE Wed 16 Jun 1999
EDITION FINAL
SECTION/CATEGORY Cape Breton
PAGE NUMBER3
BYLINETanya Collier
STORY LENGTH 405
HEADLINE:
For Sale signs on Pier homes: Residents continue to seek
answers regarding neighbourhood's safety
Upwards of 40 Whitney Pier residents have put For Sale signs in
their yards in an attempt to have their health concerns addressed.
Leonard Axworthy, a resident of Lingan Road, said the homeowners
decided to put their dwellings on the real estate market following
a community meeting.
They want the provincial Environment Department to confirm whether
or not their community is a safe place to live.
``If it is, fine, we'll stay. If it's not safe, what are you (the
provincial government) going to do to help us out,'' he said.
Since the signs were erected, no one has offered to purchase the
homes, continued Axworthy.
And, it's not that the residents want to sell, added Marie Green,
a Tupper Street homeowner.
``If we move, we lose our community.''
Green said they just want answers. If their health will be
affected by environmental tests being performed in the community,
the residents want to be temporarily relocated until the work is
complete.
When Frederick Street residents were offered temporary relocation
in May followed by an offer to sell their homes to government, it
frightened the neighbours left behind, she said.
The residents will continue to discuss their options at their nextcommunity
meeting to be held 7 p.m. today at the Melnick Community
Hall.
Axworthy said if they don't get answers soon, they will seek legal
advice and may travel to the environment minister's office in
Halifax for their answers.
``Our main concern is the land and soil and what we're breathing
in,'' he said.
Terry MacPherson, hydrogeologist with the Nova Scotia Environment
Department, said there were about 15 samples - the majority were
water - taken from Frederick Street, Tupper Street and Laurier
Street. The results suggested there was no health risk in the
area, he said.
MacPherson said the department has recommended soil sampling in
parts of the Whitney Pier community be included in a environmental
assessment being planned.
Wilf Kaiser, Department of Transportation and Public Works, said
the three levels of government and the Joint Action Group (JAG),
are working on a draft for a terms-of-reference concerning the
effort.
Frederick Street borders the north side of the former coke ovens
site, part of the , which includes the
notorious Sydney tar ponds, containing 700,000 tonnes of toxic
sludge left behind from nearly a century of steel making.
The area is fenced in with signs posted, warning of a human health
hazard.
