Posted with full permission from the Hamilton Spectator
Neighbourhood angry -- but first, people have to find the culprit
By Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 4, 2006)
Lorna Moreau and her east Hamilton neighbours are talking about a class-action lawsuit against whatever company is responsible for the greasy, black fallout that's almost impossible to clean off furniture, decks, swimming pools and clothing.
She's lived on McAnulty Boulevard between the CN tracks and Dofasco for 23 years and says she's never experienced pollution as bad as the sooty material she found on her lawn furniture and pool last Sunday.
"I've never had anything like this before, ever. I've never had anything as horrendous. I tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn't come off. I had to use Comet on my table," she said. "You go in the bathtub and it's black. I soaked my sandals in water and bleach and they're still smeared. I brushed the bottom of the pool Sunday and it's still black."
Moreau and her neighbours plan to meet Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla on Sunday to explore what they can do to ensure the Environment Ministry traces the source and stops it.
One option will be a class- action lawsuit against the province and the offending company, assuming it is identified.
Spectator readers yesterday said the fallout occurred over a wider area than first reported, and a medical expert said the mystery substance is likely not harmful to breathe in small amounts, even if it is carbon black, as some suspect.
The owner of a home on Aberdeen Avenue in southwest Hamilton sent an e-mail saying she had to clean her table outside four times last Sunday and "when you wiped with a wet cloth, it just smeared."
Bruce Stadnyk, a high school science teacher in Waterdown, said he and his wife ate outdoors at Dynes Tavern on the Hamilton Beach Strip Sunday afternoon and discovered their skin and clothes smeared with black streaks.
"It's a little hard on the palate when you're having a nice Caesar salad and you know this stuff is landing on it."Dr. Murray Finkelstein, an associate professor in McMaster University's department of family medicine, said he couldn't speak definitively until the substance is identified. Even if it is hazardous, he adds, residents are unlikely to inhale a dangerous dose over a short period of time.
Merulla blames Columbian Chemicals Canada's carbon black plant on Parkdale Avenue. But plant general manager David Ash says he can't find any evidence of a breakdown that would have released material into the air.
Merulla wrote the company yesterday to ask it to meet with concerned residents and outline "a plan to deal with the carbon emissions."
On Wednesday, council approved a motion by Merulla and Councillor Bernie Morelli calling for the city to push for real-time monitoring of air emissions from industry.
Merulla said Premier Dalton McGuinty campaigned on a promise to reverse the Harris Conservative government decision to let industries monitor themselves, a move he described as "like giving Colonel Sanders the key to the henhouse."
The Spectator's View: A15
emcguinness@thespec.com
Photo- Taken Monday, July 31, 2006, 2:54:26 PM, shows emmissions coming from Columbian Chemicals' stack.
Neighbourhood angry -- but first, people have to find the culprit
By Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 4, 2006)
Lorna Moreau and her east Hamilton neighbours are talking about a class-action lawsuit against whatever company is responsible for the greasy, black fallout that's almost impossible to clean off furniture, decks, swimming pools and clothing.
She's lived on McAnulty Boulevard between the CN tracks and Dofasco for 23 years and says she's never experienced pollution as bad as the sooty material she found on her lawn furniture and pool last Sunday.
"I've never had anything like this before, ever. I've never had anything as horrendous. I tried to wipe it off, but it wouldn't come off. I had to use Comet on my table," she said. "You go in the bathtub and it's black. I soaked my sandals in water and bleach and they're still smeared. I brushed the bottom of the pool Sunday and it's still black."
Moreau and her neighbours plan to meet Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla on Sunday to explore what they can do to ensure the Environment Ministry traces the source and stops it.
One option will be a class- action lawsuit against the province and the offending company, assuming it is identified.
Spectator readers yesterday said the fallout occurred over a wider area than first reported, and a medical expert said the mystery substance is likely not harmful to breathe in small amounts, even if it is carbon black, as some suspect.
The owner of a home on Aberdeen Avenue in southwest Hamilton sent an e-mail saying she had to clean her table outside four times last Sunday and "when you wiped with a wet cloth, it just smeared."
Bruce Stadnyk, a high school science teacher in Waterdown, said he and his wife ate outdoors at Dynes Tavern on the Hamilton Beach Strip Sunday afternoon and discovered their skin and clothes smeared with black streaks.
"It's a little hard on the palate when you're having a nice Caesar salad and you know this stuff is landing on it."Dr. Murray Finkelstein, an associate professor in McMaster University's department of family medicine, said he couldn't speak definitively until the substance is identified. Even if it is hazardous, he adds, residents are unlikely to inhale a dangerous dose over a short period of time.
Merulla blames Columbian Chemicals Canada's carbon black plant on Parkdale Avenue. But plant general manager David Ash says he can't find any evidence of a breakdown that would have released material into the air.
Merulla wrote the company yesterday to ask it to meet with concerned residents and outline "a plan to deal with the carbon emissions."
On Wednesday, council approved a motion by Merulla and Councillor Bernie Morelli calling for the city to push for real-time monitoring of air emissions from industry.
Merulla said Premier Dalton McGuinty campaigned on a promise to reverse the Harris Conservative government decision to let industries monitor themselves, a move he described as "like giving Colonel Sanders the key to the henhouse."
The Spectator's View: A15
emcguinness@thespec.com
Photo- Taken Monday, July 31, 2006, 2:54:26 PM, shows emmissions coming from Columbian Chemicals' stack.
:inn: :nonono: