Muggah Creek Watershed
PUBLICATIONThe Halifax Chronicle-Herald
DATE Saturday June 5, 1999
PAGE A4
HEADLINE:
Survey respondents say toxins threatening
SYDNEY - Sydney residents believe they are threatened by toxins
in the downtown area, says a risk-perception study by the University
College of Cape Breton.
The 1998 study by Helen Mersereau, based on a survey of 191 people,
concluded that the respondents' level of concern about health and
exposure to toxins depended on their education, overall health and
whether they had children or any sick family members.
The report stated that sewage contaminating Sydney Harbour was
the biggest environmental concern for respondents, 56 per cent of
whom were women aged 35-59.
Most felt they would be exposed to toxins from seafood while others
feared exposure from drinking well-water or eating vegetables.
Almost 50 per cent said they would be in danger from walking near
the tar ponds. The tar ponds cleanup was identified as the biggest
priority for government, followed by creating jobs, cleaning up the
coke ovens site and addressing overall health needs.
Sierra Club director to attend Sunday meeting
The executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada,
Elizabeth May, will attend a meeting Sunday at the Hankard
Street Community Hall in Whitney Pier.
The meeting was organized by a residents’ committee
formed in response to the voluntary buyout offer to
residents of Frederick Street and Curry’s Lane. The offer
was made as a result of extensive testing planned for the
neighbourhood this summer to trace the source of arsenic
contamination which has turned up in some basements.
The committee, representing residents from other streets in
the Whitney Pier community, is demanding they be
included in the buyout offer.
