Hazardous heritage 35 million tonnes a year — mini series explains Every manufacturing process pro- duces, not only the wished for product, but also generates by-product wastes, many of which are hazardous. _ “Hazardous wastes are discarded materials in solid, semi-solid, liquid or gaseous form which, due to their nature and quantity, require specialized waste management techniques for handling, transport, storage, treatment and dis- _ posal because they may cause or con- tribute to adverse, acute or chronic ef-_ fects on human health or the environ- ment when not properly controlled. These wastes can cause death, cancer, birth defects, mutations, disease or infer- tility upon exposure.’’ (Federal _ Government Task Force on Hazardous _ Waste Definition, 1979) _ A large part of hazardous wastes are a product of the synthetic organic chemi- cals industry which has developed fol- _ lowing World War II. Synthetic organic chemicals are versatile, are easy to pro- ‘duce, and have a seemingly low cost of production. This has led to their substitu- tion for more traditional inorganic chem- icals and other materials. “It is commonly accepted that we are not managing hazardous wastes properly in _ Canada.’’ (Thomas Foote, Engineer Fed- eral Environment Ministry, Maclean’s, April 29, 1985) _ U.S. production of synthetic organic chemicals increased from about one bil- _ lion pounds in 1940 to 30 billion pounds in _ 1950 and to 300 billion by 1976. The numbers of chemicals used by industry also rose dramatically to more than 66,000 chemical compounds. (There are some quarter of a million compounds _ listed.) This massive explosion of pro- duction in seemingly limitless quantities, Varieties and by-products of chemicals has been introduced into commerce and the environment with little effort to dis- ‘cover whether they are carcinogenic or otherwise toxic to humans and other forms of life. _ A rapid development toward the _ “chemical world”, the great future, was proudly claimed by the burgeoning chemical industry. But the industries’ crude headlong rush for super profits was made at the high cost of health and safety : __ At present there are no appropriate _ facilities in Ontario or Canada for the treatment and disposal of hazardous _wastes, and only inadequate facilities for _ treatment and disposal of liquid industrial _wastes. Storage of hazardous wastes and _ improper disposal of large volumes of liquid industrial wastes present the very real threat of serious environmental con- tamination such as pollution of our water supply, which in turn can threaten the health and well-being of all Ontario residents. Ontario Ministry of the Environment, quoted in Jackson & Weller, 1982. be PACIFIC TRIBUNE, OCTOBER 16, 1985 of its workers, their families and the en- vironment. The industry’s ‘‘govern- ment”’ made it easier for them by first not interfering, not introducing laws and regulations or not forcing compulsory testing of the new artificial, often toxic, substances. Later, the government, when forced by workers and their unions to act, still dragged its feet, and failed to implement and police the often weak or useless regu- lations that were too late for many work- ers. As a result of this scenario the chem- ical industry has been able to shift the costs of health and safety and the cost of disposing of chemical wastes to society in general and to the working class speci- fically. Another legacy of the ‘‘chemical world”’ is that the whole environment, including humans, is being contaminated in a sea of dangerous chemicals. “Use, waste and ultimate discard of chemicals in all forms pervade the en- vironment in massive and insidious ways. Their rapid dispersion and invasive power make it impossible to localize their effects. Consequently, the whole environment, in- cluding humans, is being contaiminated in a sea of chemicals.”’ Dr. Ross Hall & Dr. Donald Chant 1979 report to the Canadian Envrionmental Advisory Council. Only 10 Per cent Discarded Properly It has been estimated that only 10 per- cent of the hazardous wastes produced are discarded properly. “... how many of us grasp the signi- ficance of the cumulative effect of all these _ apparently unrelated events? How many of us See them as part of an ongoing trend — the gradual but unrelenting poisoning of our country?” Bob Sass & Richard Butler, Canadian Dimension, May 1982. In Canada 35 million tonnes of indus- trial wastes are generated annually. Of this 33 million tonnes are regarded as toxic or hazardous. The U.S. annually produces 60 million tonnes of hazardous wastes, which in quantity, has been equated to 3,000 Love Canals. (Love — Canal, a suburb of Niagara Falls; New York, is the site of a large leaking — hazardous waste dump where the scenes — of the most notorious of America’s — hazardous waste tragedies were played — out in the early 80s — see Canadian — Tribune, March 28, 1983). Accordingly, — Canada’s hazardous wastes could be equated to 165 Love Canals a year. What — happens to all our wastes? Where were — Canada’s 165 Love Canals for 1984? ; Next: Their names and locations. Richard Lane is the pseudonym of a work- ing scientist. 4 Be Ruling vendetta against Morgentaler Ontario premier David Peterson has rejected a call by pro-choice activists to help finance a court appeal by Dr. Henry Morgentaler. The demand came at arally called to protest the Oct. 1, Court of Ap- . peals ruling which overturned the jury acquittal of the Montreal doctor and two of his associates. Dr. Nikki Colondy, of the Ontario Co- alition for Abortion Clinics, told parti- cipants the government was using the courts ‘‘as an offensive weapon against ‘women.”’ She charged that the repeated legal harassment of the doctors was an attempt to financially ruin the pro-choice movement. The right to safe medical care, she said, is a fundamental right women should enjoy under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario government has said it is open to helping defray legal costs for precedent setting challenges to the Char- ter, but Peterson rejected the pro-choice request, explaining it was not ‘‘in the mainstream’’. He also said the province would close the doctor’s Harbord Street clinic if it had the legal grounds to do so. At an earlier press conference Dr. Morgentaler said the appeals court deci- sion represented an attack on the jury system. Fourjuries have acquitted him in the past 10 years. Each decision was over- turned by a higher court. How many juries will it take, Dr. Morgentaler asked before the govern- ment realizes the law is unenforceable. “Tt is not only irrational, backward and schizophrenic but is applied differently in different provinces and is dangerous to women.” Ontario Communist Party leader Gor- don Massie called the court ruling “‘both a vindictive attack on Dr. Morgentaler and on women’s rights. “‘It appears the courts and government are buckling under to right-wing, so- called pro-life pressure.”’ The only means of resolving the ques- tion said Massie, “‘is for the Ontario government to drop all the charges against the doctors and for Ottawa to remove abortion from the criminal — code.” The pro-choice movement has already incurred $450,000 in legal costs arising out of Dr. Morgentaler’s Ontario trial. Similar charges are still pending in Man- — itoba. x Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce ‘Cockburn remains unconvinced by CBC explanations of how a story editor’s note describing him as a “commie fag sympathizer’? ended up on an interviewer's desk. “‘T was told it was the work of an unnamed researcher who would be dis- ciplined,’’ Cockburn told the Tribune. *“But I somehow doubt that a re- searcher would have that kind of re- sponsibility.” : Cockburn discovered the note during a break in an interview with Valerie Pringle of CBC’s Midday. The inter- view had been slated to discuss the Cockburn at recent anti-apartheid rally. Cockburn doubts CBC excuse = vadorean refugees and to allow 10 re- | | fugees who were imprisoned by the _# 14> Hondurans during an Aug. 29 attack on 71% the Colomoncagua camp to enter }E ficials have visited the imprisoned Sal- 2 vadoreans, indicating an interest in 2 their case but that much remains to be © done about the thousands of other re- singer’s recent trip to a Salvadorean refugee camp in Honduras. Pringle had refused to address the refugee situation and concentrated on questioning Cockburn about music. The note went on to say Cockburn wanted to talk ‘‘about Salvadorean re- fugees and what a rough time they’re having ... nix on that.”’ On Cockburn’s insistence the inter- view was rescheduled and aired, Oct. 2. “It shows that we who are likely to be interviewed have a responsibility to ensure that what goes on TV or into the media represents what we want,’’ he said; noting that the implied censorship used against him by the CBC “‘ probably parrots current Conservative thinking on these issues.” Cockburn met on Oct. 3 with officials from external affairs. He is trying to get Ottawa to condemn the Honduran gov- ernment for its brutal treatment of Sal- Canada. He said Canadian immigration of- fugees in Honduras.