Frederick Street, Nova Scotia
Frederick Street is located in the middle of the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia on the East Coast of Canada and is the closest residential street to the former Sydney Steel Plant. The plant itself was originally sited in what had been beautiful and bountiful Mi ‘kmaq Native First Nations land, adjacent to a pristine waterway. But in the 19th century the aboriginal lands were appropriated by the government for industrial use.
For over 100 years Sydney was the heart of an enormous industrial steelmaking complex, and as it passed under various ownership, including the Canadian government, a reckless disregard for the local environment, the health and welfare of local residents, and even the workers at the plant itself transformed the site beyond recognition. What was once a pristine landscape is now home to 700,000 tons of toxic sludge (including 40 -50,000 tons of PCBs) covering a 51 hectare site and extending down to a depth of 24 metres. What is now known as The Sydney Tar Ponds has levels of contamination thirty five times worse than the levels found at the Love Canal site in New York, which made the international headlines in the late 70s and early 80s. The Sydney Tar Ponds however, made very little impact on the media either locally or internationally.
The estuary adjacent to the Tar Ponds is tidal, so the toxins dumped at this site continue to flow out to sea on a daily basis with the rise and fall of the tide.
For over 100 years Sydney was the heart of an enormous industrial steelmaking complex, and as it passed under various ownership, including the Canadian government, a reckless disregard for the local environment, the health and welfare of local residents, and even the workers at the plant itself transformed the site beyond recognition. What was once a pristine landscape is now home to 700,000 tons of toxic sludge (including 40 -50,000 tons of PCBs) covering a 51 hectare site and extending down to a depth of 24 metres. What is now known as The Sydney Tar Ponds has levels of contamination thirty five times worse than the levels found at the Love Canal site in New York, which made the international headlines in the late 70s and early 80s. The Sydney Tar Ponds however, made very little impact on the media either locally or internationally.
The estuary adjacent to the Tar Ponds is tidal, so the toxins dumped at this site continue to flow out to sea on a daily basis with the rise and fall of the tide.
The neighbourhood dump
Concerns about pollution levels from the steel plant operations were evident in the 1970s as residents recall a weekly orange snow that would cover the local area. In 1981 scientific testing on lobsters from the local harbour revealed high levels of PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), believed to be linked to the pollution from the steel mill. PAHs are universally recognised as being responsible for increased cancer, mutation and birth defect rates.
The government responded in 1981 by closing the South Arm of the harbour to lobster fishing, but did nothing else for nearly 6 years. Reports of high incidents of local illnesses such as cancer, respiratory problems, liver and heart disease, along with high levels of birth defects continued to rise and though government testing in the area revealed concentrations of arsenic at 18.5 times higher than acceptable levels and other known cancer causing compounds at over 8 times higher, the official government line remained that people living in the area were not at risk. Instead of attempting any sort of clean up operation or compensating and removing the residents, government funds instead supplied a three metre high chain link fence to cordon off the area complete with signs warning ‘human health hazard’.
The government responded in 1981 by closing the South Arm of the harbour to lobster fishing, but did nothing else for nearly 6 years. Reports of high incidents of local illnesses such as cancer, respiratory problems, liver and heart disease, along with high levels of birth defects continued to rise and though government testing in the area revealed concentrations of arsenic at 18.5 times higher than acceptable levels and other known cancer causing compounds at over 8 times higher, the official government line remained that people living in the area were not at risk. Instead of attempting any sort of clean up operation or compensating and removing the residents, government funds instead supplied a three metre high chain link fence to cordon off the area complete with signs warning ‘human health hazard’.
Good Fences Make Good Neighbours - Frederick Street, Nova Scotia
© Sharon Andrew - 2012
Plans to clean up the Tar Ponds had been mooted since 1986 but continual delays, enormous unrecoverable financial costs, false starts and the preparation of over 600 reports would see action on this front postponed for a further 22 years. The residents of Frederick Street were eventually moved although they only received the assessed value for their homes, a paltry sum thanks to the property being sited amongst a toxic dump.
Phase 1 of the official cleanup began in 2009, the final phase, phase 3, which includes the creation of a natural reserve and public park to be constructed on the site, began in 2012. Projected clean up costs since phase 1 are in the region of $400 million.
The inspiration for my piece “Good Fences Make Good Neighbours - Frederick Street, Nova Scotia” came from a quote from Juanita McKenzie, a resident of Frederick Street, on discovering a second new fence erected by government officials and placed even closer to the residents’ back yards. In her words, “Cape Breton has very intelligent fences. They know how to stop toxic chemicals”. The sentiment is clear, how could anyone in their right mind believe that a chain link fence would prevent toxins and pollutants from escaping an area so fouled as this, where the tides wash the sludge in and then out of the waterways twice daily, the ground water supply is in threat of contamination, and the aerated pollutants float on the breeze. Unfortunately, this is the default response for nearly all industrial environmental accidents. Often a flimsy chain link fence is the only attempt made to "contain" the pollution.
Phase 1 of the official cleanup began in 2009, the final phase, phase 3, which includes the creation of a natural reserve and public park to be constructed on the site, began in 2012. Projected clean up costs since phase 1 are in the region of $400 million.
The inspiration for my piece “Good Fences Make Good Neighbours - Frederick Street, Nova Scotia” came from a quote from Juanita McKenzie, a resident of Frederick Street, on discovering a second new fence erected by government officials and placed even closer to the residents’ back yards. In her words, “Cape Breton has very intelligent fences. They know how to stop toxic chemicals”. The sentiment is clear, how could anyone in their right mind believe that a chain link fence would prevent toxins and pollutants from escaping an area so fouled as this, where the tides wash the sludge in and then out of the waterways twice daily, the ground water supply is in threat of contamination, and the aerated pollutants float on the breeze. Unfortunately, this is the default response for nearly all industrial environmental accidents. Often a flimsy chain link fence is the only attempt made to "contain" the pollution.
