The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

November 22, 1989 Uv oo8a SS eS NE wf =OMO oO © a w "eo O = Men o = --s BR ari oC NU o --% +> "eH NS ee O 40 cents Professor has concerns with tests at Schreiber's Mineral Transfer Facility Concerned citizens meet with dust experi By Dave Chmara The dust at Canadian Pacific's mineral transfer facility in Schreiber "may be a harmless powder but I don't like what it's made up of," said Brian Kaye, professor of physics and fine par- ticles with Sudbury's Laurentian University. - : Kaye made the comment at a meeting held in Schreiber last week with Rick Briggs, president of the Sudbury Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers' Union, Local No. 598, members of the Concermed Citizens Committee of Schreiber and about 60 other peo- ple in attendance. Briggs said his union "main- tains workers have the right to live and work in a healthy envi- ronment." He said the issue is to try to understand the situation in Schreiber and to try to find a solution everybody can live with. "We do a lot of environmental work, especially in Sudbury, and we decided to get involved here to see if there is a problem," said Briggs. : Kaye added the situation in Schreiber with respect to the min- eral transfer facility is a complex one and said, "so far you've been asking the wrong questions." _ He also believes the Ministry of the Environment studies are not specific enough as they do not indicate the exact form of the the of moss." cadmium, lead, arsenic, zinc and copper. Kaye said, "without knowing the form the chemicals are in I can't tell you of the danger." However, he did say, "I don't think they are safe to be sniffing." He said he wonders if any test- ing on animals has ever been done to see if there are possible health hazards associated with the concentrate. - Wants different tests performed Kaye commented on the tests conducted by the MOE saying, "with all respect to the MOE, I don't care what happens to a bag He said he would like to know the level of dust inside homes in Schreiber. Items such as vacuum cleaners and carpets would give an indication if the dust is getting inside people's homes and the level of the dust, he said. As for the MOE guidelines, Kaye said the Icvels are set for healthy adults. These industrial safety limits and exposures are generally higher than for young children and pregnant women, he said. The size of the dust particles is another area of concern Kaye has. He said, "what )ou can't see is what harms you." Briggs said samples were col- lected from various sites in looks on as Dr. Peterson Warren gives Gunner his shots. Highview Animal Clinic from Thunder Bay was in Terrace Bay for a couple of days last week to perform surgery one day and give dogs and cats any necessary shots the next. The clinic comes to town every few months which saves people the drive to Thunder Bay. Above, Jim Charlton Photo by Dave Chmara Schreiber and Kaye will conduct testing to determine the size and content of the samples. Results of the tests are expected sometime within two to four wecks. Kaye commented on how the concentrate is handled at the CP transfer facility and said, "I'm not a mining engineer, but it seems to me to be a very primitive way of handling the concentrate." At present, the concentrate is shipped by truck to the transfer facility where it is dumped onto concrete pads. A front end loader then picks up the concentrate and dumps it into rail cars. MOE study A report recently released by the MOE gives the rcsults of tests performed this spring and sum- mer. The report concludes, "based on monitoring results to date, the concentrate transhipment opera- tion now meets Ministry require- ments for air quality." It goes on to say, "This improvement is attributed to the control program implemented by CP Rail in early 1989. Because air quality objectives for hi-vol (air) sampling are based on health effects, we consider that these data offer the best evidence that the ore transhipment operation currently poses no health threat off CP Rail property." The authors of the report rec- ommend the air sampling pro- gram should continue for another six to. nine months and, if at that time the dust Ievels have been satisfactory, the need for monitor- ing should be reviewed. It also suggests the moss expo- sure tests and snow sampling should also be continued, particu- larly if the air sampling program is reduced or dropped. Kaye said he would like to know more about the concentrate such as the size distribution of the dust particles, its health risks on people, and if and how much dust Continued on page 2 Belluz POT 2W0 Broker Realty Ltd. Simcoe Plaza Terrace Bay, Ont Juris Zdanovskis 1-807-824-2933 1-807-825-9393 Lifeline System now set-up and in operation Page 2 INSIDE THIS WEEK McCausland Hospital Pet Talk Recipes for tasty treats Dietary department serves tasty food Page 3 Page 5 INSURANCE LTD. | Insurance Specialists! | SUPERIOR SHORELINE The Northshore Gord*Moorey 825-9492 825-9646 sea