Sierra Club demands MD quit
over tar ponds issue
By JOCELYN BETHUNE
Chronicle Herald, July 25, 1998
Margaree Harbor
The Sierra
Club of Canada is demanding the resignation of Nova Scotia's chief medical
officer.
Elizabeth
may, executive director of the national environmental group, says Dr. Jeff
Scott no longer has credibility. He said Wednesday the residents
of Frederick Street in Sydney face no immediate health risks.
"Every statement
that we can recall, for as many years as he has been there, has been to
minimize the (perception of) risks from toxic chemicals and issue bland
reassurances that have the effect of endangering the public health," Ms
May said from her summer home in Margaree Harbour.
Residents
of Frederick Street -- on the edge of the tar ponds site where 700,000
tonnes of toxic waste have been dumped during a century of steel making
- were recently informed the area had extreme levels of arsenic.
They have
undergone hair and blood tests to determine if their bodies have unusually
high levels of contaminants.
Residents
held a news conference Thursday and denounced Dr. Scott's comments.
Ms. May said
Dr. Scott's latest announcement, coupled with another comment he made last
year downplaying the risks posed by the proximity of a circus set up near
the toxic site, is disconcerting.
"When someone
who is entrusted with this position of chief medical officer for the province
says ... htere was no risk to going to a circus adjacent to the tar ponds
and that he would take his pregnant wife there...
The effect
that has on members of the public is to discredit the legitimate concerns
that the site is in fact dangerous."
She adds the
people of Frederick Street in particular have reason to be worried.
"They have
been through a real nightmare... They are desparate to be moved and to
have statements from Jeff Scott continually downplaying hte risks to those
people ... It's irresponsible."
Dr. Scott
was on vacation Friday, but Sue McKeage, a spokeswoman for the Department
of Health, said the department has the utmost confidence in Dr. Scott and
he continues to meet with Frederick Street residents to hear their concerns.
"He has been
saying that there is no acute or immediate risk to the residents in that
area but he recognizes that more tests are needed. He moved immediately
on that (and) is continuing to do that."
She said even
though Dr. Scott is out of the office, he continues to be kept up to date
and spoke with a resident Thursday.
Results from
the tests conducted on Frederick Street rests are expected shortly, she
added.
The Sierra
Club is working with residents to find an independent laboratory to test
hair and blood samples.
"They are
entitled to a second opinion," Ms. May said.
Frederick
Street residents said they would not comment on Sierra Club demands until
they had the chance to review them.
Germaine LeMoine,
a spokeswoman for the Joint Action Group, a committee formed to oversee
the cleanup of the tar ponds, declined comment on the Sierra Club's position.
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