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George Mischenko - Duncan News Leader - Protecting environment worth the investment |
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March 3, 2004
"...While Mr. Maroc’s concerns about the Valley’s economic well-being and
job security of the 1,000 Crofton mill employees are commendable, the
health concerns of the remaining 70,000 residents of the CVRD (plus
nearly the same population of adjacent areas) somehow escaped his
attention. On the other hand, his point that residents of the adjacent
Saltspring Island do not benefit economically from NorskeCanada is
indeed well taken. It gives us a pretty good idea why Michael Ableman
is so reluctant to expose his children to Norske’s pollutants and
carcinogens — because it is the only material “benefit” Crofton mill
brings to his farm in Vesuvius Bay."
Letters (Duncan News Leader, March 3, 2004)
Protecting environment worth the investment
Dear editor,
Living in the Cowichan Valley, it does not take much time to realize it
has its share of environmental problems and concerns. No wonder both
North Cowichan council and the Crofton Airshed Citizens Group (CACG)
have come to similar conclusions: if there’s too much nasty-smelling
smoke coming from backyard burning or from the pulp mill, you have to
question what is being burned there and to investigate how these
foul-smelling fumes may affect your health.
I cannot agree with Don Maroc’s view that NorskeCanada should be given
carte blanche to unconditionally run lengthy test burns of
environmentally dangerous materials at the Crofton mill. Regrettably,
his support of Norske’s proposed test burning of rubber tires,
carcinogen-saturated railways ties and low grade coal falls short of
mentioning these fuels contain a whole bouquet of toxic materials,
including heavy metals, that will unavoidably end up in our air, water,
soil and food.
Even Norske’s executives are quite clear these test burns will only
trade toxic dioxins and furans for even worse heavy metals. Unlike
dioxins and furans, heavy metals cannot be destroyed by a steadier and
hotter burn. They are neither chemically nor biologically degradable,
and their concentration in living organisms only increases with time
and continuous exposure. It is also a well-established fact heavy
metals are extremely dangerous for human and environmental health.
While Mr. Maroc’s concerns about the Valley’s economic well-being and
job security of the 1,000 Crofton mill employees are commendable, the
health concerns of the remaining 70,000 residents of the CVRD (plus
nearly the same population of adjacent areas) somehow escaped his
attention. On the other hand, his point that residents of the adjacent
Saltspring Island do not benefit economically from NorskeCanada is
indeed well taken. It gives us a pretty good idea why Michael Ableman
is so reluctant to expose his children to Norske’s pollutants and
carcinogens — because it is the only material “benefit” Crofton mill
brings to his farm in Vesuvius Bay.
It is even more difficult to agree with Patrick Hrushowy’s criticism
towards the North Cowichan mayor’s efforts to identify and address some
of the most sensitive environmental concerns in the Valley. In this
respect, Jon Lefebure’s initiatives to spearhead the CVRD roundtable on
the environment and to prioritize environmental problems deserve as
much support as we can only put behind it. No one, except the residents
of the Valley, knows better which environmental issues are more
important to them. If there is a public will to impose stricter
regulations for backyard burns or to phase out cosmetic use of
pesticides, let’s find out.
And, if Jon Lefebure is trying to identify and prioritize environmental
issues prior to hiring “professionals”, let him do it. As far as the
columnist’s comments about the “non-professional” composition of the
local advisory groups are concerned, I would like to invite Hrushowy to
familiarize himself with the academic and professional credentials of
the members of the municipal advisory commissions, as well as with the
overall professional and academic resources in the Valley. Local
efforts to explore and to tap into these resources are highly
commendable.
Hopefully, Hrushowy will also discover them for himself.
—George Mischenko
North Cowichan
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