Muggah Creek Watershed
PUBLICATION Cape Breton Post
DATE Thu 03 Jun 1999
EDITION FINAL
SECTION/CATEGORY News
PAGE NUMBER1 / Front
BYLINESteve MacInnis
STORY LENGTH 421
HEADLINE:
Pier residents seek guarantee:
``You give us a clean bill
of health and we'll stay,'' says councillor
Whitney Pier homeowners will abandon a demand for relocation if
the provincial Environment Department issues a letter assuring
them there is no health threat to remaining in the neighbourhood.
``You give us a clean bill of health and we'll stay,'' said
regional councillor Lorne Green, who chairs a special residents
committee.
Green said the residents are insisting the letter come from the
Environment Department and offer clear assurances there is no
health threat to the homeowners and, more importantly, their
children.
``Issue the letter and let us know it's safe and they'll never see
us again,'' said Green, who represents the Pier on the Cape Breton
Regional Municipality council.
Department spokesperson Angela Poirier said Wednesday when it
comes to health issues, the department takes its cue from the
Health Department.
``We rely on the Health Department for such an assessment and the
chief medical officer (Dr. Jeff Scott) has said in the past there
is no health risk,'' she said.
Residents on several Pier streets were angered last week in
learning the provincial and federal governments offered buyouts to
24 homeowners on Frederick Street and Curry's Lane.
The offer comes just over a year after Frederick Street residents
began a public campaign for relocation. They said their proximity
to the former coke ovens site was making them sick.
The site is part of the which is now the
subject to Canada's largest remediation effort. Preliminary work
on the coke ovens last year disturbed a lot of ground cover and
Frederick Street residents said the dust and fumes were making
them sick.
Soil and water tests on the street indicated levels of
contamination were within acceptable levels but when traces of
arsenic started showing up in some basements three weeks ago, the
government relocated 10 families to a Sydney hotel. Two families
have since moved out to other accommodations.
Green said 80 other residents met Tuesday to plot their strategy
and have invited local lawyers to come and talk to them about
their rights. One session is expected as early as Friday.
The group is also planning a number of other public events to
raise awareness of the issue. A rally may be set for Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sydney lawyer Joe Rizzetto said Wednesday all seven of
his clients are negotiating to accept the buyout offer.
``There is nothing final at this point. We'd like to have
everything over within the next two to three weeks,'' he said,
adding all of his clients will be moving out of the Pier.
PUBLICATIONThe Halifax Chronicle-Herald
DATE Thursday June 3, 1999
PAGE A8
BYLINETera Camus
Incinerator report questioned
C.B. municipality asks province to explain itself
Sydney - The region's public works committee is challenging a
provincial Environment report this week that gives a thumbs-up to
its incinerator's efficiency.
Instead of accepting the report "blindly," the committee in charge
of the incinerator's operation wants Environment officials to
address their questions and those of Marlene Kane, an
environmentalist who videotaped unburned biomedical waste at the
facility in January.
That video sparked an Environment Department investigation.
"Why are we hosting a challenge to the Department of Environment
report," a red-faced Kevin MacDonald, the administrator in charge of
the Sydney facility, questioned Wednesday at a meeting of the
committee.
"Well, you're asking us to accept it blindly," Coun. Lorne Green
shot back.
Among its 10 recommendations, the report advised better evaluation
of the receiving and handling of waste, development of written
handling procedures for staff and a guidance document to classify
the unburned ash, and appropriate training of staff.
The investigator also recommended inspectors make more unscheduled
visits, schedule weekend and off-hours inspections, and report those
inspections to the facility's supervisor.
The manager of the facility deemed the report positive.
"Emissions from our waste water and stacks meet their requirements,"
Paul Oldford said. "The facility is operating in compliance with its
permits."
The waste, which included unburned syringes, intravenous bags and
medical scrubs, was categorized by the report as regular hospital
waste and not biomedical, he said.
But 10 residents at Wednesday's meeting scoffed at the report and
spoke from the gallery.
"Are you saying we don't have a say? That we have to sit here on our
derrieres and accept what it offers without any contradiction," one
man asked.
"Basically, yes," replied Coun. Mike White, the committee's chairman
who was the only one to vote against the meeting with Environment
officials.
But several councillors picked up on the distress of those in the
gallery and pushed through the motion to have the meeting.
Mr. White said council has to inform its residents of what the
incinerator is supposed to do.
"The incinerator is a means of waste reduction, not waste
destruction," he said.
But Ms. Kane said that's not true.
"It's very clear what incineration is, so for them to say it's just
a reduction and unburned waste is allowable is incorrect according
to the CCME guidelines," she said.
"We certainly have concerns ... before any report is accepted."
The Canadian Council of the Ministers of Environment describes
incineration as "a process whereby combustible materials are
converted into non-combustible residue or ash, achieving a reduction
of 90 per cent by volume ... when the incinerator is properly
operated."
Environmentalist Doug MacKinlay even had a copy of a 1997 regional
newsletter that promoted a plan to burn biomedical waste.
"On Page 3, it indicates 'the remaining residue is ash.' ... This is
what we were promised, not unburned materials," he said.
There's no word when a meeting with the Environment Department may
be held.
New test results show no sign of contamination in
Pier
The latest round of test results from Frederick Street are in
and show no signs of contamination.
Angela Poirier, spokesperson for the provincial
Environment Department, said Wednesday testing results
of drainage water from the basements reveal no signs of
contamination.
In fact, she said, the results indicate the water is of drinking
quality.
The results are being relayed to the homeowners, many of
whom are staying at a Sydney hotel.
Ten families were moved out three weeks ago after traces
of arsenic started showing up in some basements. Two
have moved out to alternative accommodations.
Last week, the provincial government offered a voluntary
buyout to 24 homeowners on Frederick Street and Curry’s
Lane. The offer has upset other Pier residents who want to
be relocated or assured there is no health risk to remaining
in the area.
Frederick Street is located adjacent to the Muggah Creek
Watershed which is now considered Canada’s worst toxic
waste dump. The site contains a host of highly toxic
contaminants and is now the subject of a remediation plan
being led by the Joint Action group (JAG).
