Friday, September 25, 1998                                                            The Halifax Herald Limited
(keep reading for HEALTH CANADA STUDY FINDINGS and LIFESTYLE blamed)
 

Friday, September 25, 1998                                            The Halifax Herald Limited

                              Sydney residents dying early

                              Doctors puzzled by problem

                               By TERA CAMUS / Cape Breton Bureau

                               Sydney - Sydney-area residents have a shorter lifespan
                               than other Canadians but no one can yet say why.

                               Health Canada scientist Dr. Michel Camus says area
                               residents are dying about 16 per cent sooner than they
                               should for their ages - about 10 years before their time.

                               "It means a shorter lifespan," he told a Thursday morning
                               media briefing held to discuss his and Dr. Pierre Band's
                               mortality study.

                               The two scientists determined industrial Cape Breton had
                               22 causes of death with rates much higher than in the rest
                               of Canada. Their findings were released Wednesday after
                               a two-year study of health records from 1951 to 1994.

                               They also determined the cancer rate is 16 per cent higher
                               per capita in Sydney than anywhere else in Canada.

                               "It's not only the cancers but we must look at the cancer
                               rates in perspective," Dr. Camus said. "We were very
                               surprised to see there were similar excess (deaths) for
                               cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, respiratory diseases
                               and diabetes, which (people) are at a much higher risk (of
                               dying) here than for cancer.

                               "That is the most striking feature that we see in this
                               population."

                               He has a few theories on why the numbers for the Sydney
                               area are so high but said more study is needed.

                               "It means that there are many risk factors acting together,
                               jointly, in this population, and we cannot tell which risk
                               factor is responsible for these excess health risks.

                               "It doesn't mean there's not an environmental factor that
                               could have caused that."

                               The Joint Action Group for Environmental Cleanup
                               ordered the mortality study in November 1996 as part of
                               its mandate to clean up the toxic waste sites in downtown
                               Sydney.

                               JAG chairman Bucky Buchanan said Phase2 of the study,
                               which will determine the cause of the high rates, is
                               expected to be approved before the year's end.

                               "We will initiate some intervention as soon as we can and
                               we'll continue to gather other types of information that
                               paints the entire picture for trying to create a healthy
                               community," Mr. Buchanan said.

                               It has yet to be proven, but the cause of the high disease
                               rates is believed to be the infamous tar ponds - which
                               have 700,000 tonnes of sludge with cancer-causing
                               polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
                               polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - and a contaminated
                               150-hectare coke ovens site nearby.

                               Health Minister Jim Smith said his department will push
                               for the second phase of the study.

                               "I think we have to keep this before us and I think (we
                               need) a comprehensive awareness. ... It is a community
                               that needs a lot of work."

                               Sydney-Victoria MP Peter Mancini demanded Thursday
                               to know how many more people will have to die before
                               the government will act on this file.

                               "The findings in this study confirm what we've known all
                               along - the people of Cape Breton have paid a huge price
                               for the industrial progress of Nova Scotia and Canada.

                               "They've paid with their lives."

                               The Cape Breton New Democrat called on the federal
                               and provincial governments to immediately set up an early
                               detection centre for cancer.

                               As well, he said, it is imperative that the people who live
                               next to the tar ponds and coke ovens sites be relocated.

                               Mr. Mancini said it will take years to find out exactly
                               what's in the tar ponds and how to clean them up. In the
                               meantime, nobody should continue to be exposed to what
                               is obviously a very dangerous area, he said.

                               Federal Environment Minister Christine Stewart said
                               Thursday she finds the results of the study very disturbing
                               and is taking them seriously.

                               "We are concerned about these statistics and we're
                               planning on meeting with provincial officials and ministers
                               in the coming week to discuss the issue and how we might
                               proceed."

                               But JAG will continue to take the lead, she said.

                               "It's for the JAG to determine what kind of action they
                               want, and when and whenever they have given us that
                               signal and specific requests, we have responded and it's
                               our commitment to continue to do so."

                               Dr. Band and Dr. Camus say a combination of
                               environment and lifestyle factors could be causing
                               Industrial Cape Breton's high death rate from certain
                               diseases.

                               "We don't know by health data whether people have
                               different health habits in Sydney than the rest of Cape
                               Breton County," Dr. Camus said.

                               "We know there are different pollution sources, but on the
                               other hand in Cape Breton County you have coal dust
                               clouds. ... We don't know."

                               The two scientists say the death rates from many of the
                               killer diseases have levelled off in Industrial Cape Breton
                               since the 1980s but are still higher than in the rest of
                               Canada.

                               Besides higher than average rates for cancers of the lung,
                               stomach, breast, pancreas and bone marrow,
                               Sydney-area people are dying from asthma, diabetes,
                               multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease more often than
                               other Canadians.

                               The rates of cancers and non-cancerous diseases alike
                               are higher in the area, Dr. Band said.

                               "If you exclude Cape Breton County from Nova Scotia,
                               then the Nova Scotia rates become very similar to the rest
                               of Canada," he said. "The major health problem in Nova
                               Scotia is related to what happens in Cape Breton
                               County."

                               He also said many of the cancers found can be prevented
                               by diet and lifestyle changes, public education and proper
                               screening.

                               The two scientists delivered their findings to fewer than 10
                               residents who showed up for a public meeting Thursday
                               night.

                               Juanita McKenzie, a Frederick Street resident, was
                               shocked and a little saddened that hardly anyone outside
                               the media, JAG and police bothered to attend.

                               "For the whole of Sydney and the county of Cape Breton
                               that is included in this study, I think people really have to
                               open their eyes here and they have to realize, my God, a
                               member of their family is probably in that study, and why
                               aren't they here asking why did my family die? Why does
                               Sydney have the highest (cancer) rate in Canada?

                               "This isn't normal. ... I would think that people would take
                               more time ... and realize this is a very serious problem for
                               Sydney."

                               - With Brian Underhill, Ottawa bureau
                        Copyright © 1998 The Halifax Herald Limited



 HEALTH CANADA STUDY  FINDINGS

   - Cancer killed 16 per cent more people per capita in industrial Cape Breton than in the nation
   from 1951 to 1994.
   - Lip cancer deaths were double the national standard.
   - Stomach cancer deaths were 50 per cent more common in Sydney than in the rest of the
   country.
   - Cervical cancer deaths exceeded the national rate by 82 per cent in industrial Cape Breton
   and 79 per cent in Sydney.
   - Women in Sydney died from salivary gland cancer at almost four times the national norm.
   - Deaths from skin cancer in women were double the national rate.
   - Higher than expected death rates also showed up in cancers of the lung (20 per cent higher),
   pancreas (30), prostate (17), myeloid leukemias (men 71), breast (25), colon (35) and
   esophagus (men 52).
   - Deaths from other leukemias and colon cancer in men were significantly lower than the
   national rates.
   - About 12 per cent fewer Sydney children under 15 died from leukemia, cancer, circulatory disesases, mental illness and metabolic disorders than the national standard. But 13 per cent more children than expected died in places like New Waterford, Glace Bay and North Sydney.
   - For non-cancer diseases, the top killer in Sydney was pneumoconiosis. The death rate
   was 15 times the national average.
   - Silicosis and anthracosis accounted for 16 times more deaths per capita in Sydney than
   in the rest of the country, while the death rate from miner's lung was 75 times higher than
   expected.
   - Women died from pregnancy complications at a rate 83 per cent higher than the national
   standard.
   - About 42 per cent more women died from diabetes in Sydney than elsewhere in Canada
   while the death rate for men killed by diabetes was double the national average.
   - Deaths caused by hypertension, Alzheimer's disease or multiple sclerosis occurred at twice the
   national average in Sydney.
   - Deaths from falls and fires were 32 per cent higher than in the rest of the nation.

   SYDNEY'S NOTORIOUS TAR PONDS

   Some facts about the Sydney tar ponds, considered to be Canada's worst toxic waste site:

   HOW FORMED: For almost a century, the sooty runoff from the coke ovens of the Sydney Steel
   plant was discharged into the in downtown Sydney.
   POLLUTION: About 700,000 tonnes of toxic sludge plugs the ponds, contaminated by
   polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated byphenyls, or PCBs.
   SIZE: The ponds, divided by a short causeway leading to the plant, are about a kilometre long
   and empty into Sydney harbour.
   CLEANUP EFFORTS: Some of the coke oven structures have been torn down and a fence
   encloses the site. The federal and provincial governments signed an agreement Sept.19 to fund the
   cleanup, expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. 



    Lifestyle blamed

          Liberals say smoking, poor diet part of cancer problem

          By AMY SMITH / Provincial Reporter

          The lifestyles of Sydney residents contribute to high cancer rates in the area, two top
          Liberals say.

          "The heavy incidence of smoking in the industrial area, which goes hand in hand with
          the industrial economy, diets, habits - all of these things have been documented as
          causes of certain cancers," Economic Development Minister Manning MacDonald
          said Thursday before cabinet.

          He was responding to a study released Wednesday that said cancer has been killing
          Sydney residents at a rate above the Canadian average for decades.

          The study, started in November 1996, determined 22 causes of death were much
          higher in Sydney than in the rest of Canada.

          Health Minister Jim Smith agreed there must be a plan to change the way Sydney
          residents treat their health.

          "Not that it was anyone's fault necessarily, because sometimes it's a lack of
          knowledge, a lack of access perhaps for people to be screened for Pap smears,
          those types of issues," Mr. Smith said.

          But both said lifestyles are not the sole cause of the cancers and other major illnesses
          in Sydney.

          Calling the study "a piercing glimpse into the obvious," Mr. MacDonald said Cape
          Bretoners have worked and lived under unhealthy conditions for decades.

          "If you make steel and coal for 100 years and if you are lying on your back in a coal
          mine breathing in coal dust for 60 or 70 years - over that period of time, you are
          going to have some resulting problems," Mr. MacDonald said.

          "I think that the people of Industrial Cape Breton are paying the price for contributing
          to the economy in a very meaningful way."

          But Mr. MacDonald said steelmaking has improved over the years since the Sydney
          plant has switched to electric arc operations.

          He said the toxic waste at the tar ponds has to be cleaned up as soon as possible;
          the only problem is getting people to agree on how to do it.

          The minister said the province can't fund the cleanup by itself. He hopes the new
          study will encourage the federal government to loosen its purse strings and kick in
          some money.

          Tory Leader John Hamm said all Nova Scotians - not just those in Sydney - need to
          take better care of themselves.

          "I see children smoking in the schoolyards. I've seen unhealthy diets across this
          province," said Mr. Hamm, who practised medicine in Stellarton before entering
          politics.

          "We have unrealistically high instances of cancers across the province."

          Opposition Leader Robert Chisholm said the obvious move now is toward early
          detection and cancer prevention.

          He criticized the practice of charging a $5 tray fee for Pap tests, saying it discourages
          low-income women from having the procedure.

          Such high rates of cancer would not be accepted in any other part of the province,
          Mr. Chisholm said.

          "Cape Bretoners should not be asked to accept greater health risks because of what
          they do for a living or where they live," he said in a news release.

          Sydney-Victoria MP Peter Mancini said he met Wednesday with federal Health
          Minister Allan Rock about the situation.

                       Copyright © 1998 The Halifax Herald Limited


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