john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) (11/09/88)
Keywords: Dioxin Pollution Health
DIOXIN POLLUTION AND TOXIC WASTE DUMP SITES IN THE FORT FRANCES
AREA: SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND SOME LITTLE KNOWN FACTS
Here are some of the key "Active" Hazardous Waste Dump Sites in the
Fort Frances Area: A610101
A610301
A7065801
A7085501
A7304701
A7304702
A610020
Here are some of the key "Closed" Hazardous Waste Dump Sites in the
Fort Frances Area: A610008
X1250
X1252
A610013
A7354002
A7104801
A7354001
A610006
A611002
A7037301
X1246
X1247
610103*
All of the above numbers are "Site Numbers" for waste disposal sites
in Ontario. I obtained all of these "Site Numbers" (except the one
with a * beside it) from the document "Ontario Ministry of the Environment
Waste Disposal Site Inventory"May 1988, By: Ontario Ministry of the
Environment.
Site Number 610103 came from the document: "Ontario Ministry of the
Environment Waste Site Inventories"July 1986, By: Ontario Ministry of
the Environment Waste Management Branch.
To obtain detailed information about exact locations and content
of these waste sites, as well as information about wether they are
leaking, contact: Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Northwestern
Region,Regional & District Office, P.O. Box 5000, 435 James St. S.,
Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada P7C 5G6
Telephone: Regional Office (807) 475-1205
Here are a few things which should be kept in mind while investigating
these sites:
1)"Tests have revealed 210 parts per trillion of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most
toxic form of dioxin, in the primary settling lagoon at Boise Cascade's
pulp and paper mill in Fort Frances" (MOE Press Release May 2, 1986)
2)2,3,7,8-TCDD dioxin was found "in sludge from Boise Cascade's secondary
treatment system in Fort Frances" (MOE Press Release July 17, 1986)
3)"Sampling of 50 fish in the Rainy River system below the Boise Cascade
mill in Fort Frances revealed 2,3,7,8-TCDD in 16 of 42 fish at levels of
1 to 9 parts per trillion." (MOE Press Release July 17,1986)
4)"There are no "safe" levels of TCDD. Every dose tested in laboratory
animals has resulted in increased levels of cancer, birth defects and
other reproductive problems, and in damage to the body's immune system"
(No Margin of Safety 1987)
5)"Because dioxin will remain for many years in aquatic sediments and
bioaccumulates readily in aquatic plant and animal life, dioxin contam-
ination of lakes and rivers is particularly alarming. Continuous
discharges of even small amounts of dioxin build up in sediments, from
which aquatic plants and fish can accumulate up to 30,000 times the
sediment levels"(No Margin of Safety 1987)
6) Members of First Nations in the Fort Frances area eat fish and drink
water.
7)"The sludge is disposed of at approved landfill sites."(MOE Press Release
July 17, 1986)
8)"The environment ministry also tested leachate from a closed Boise Cascade
sludge disposal site located in Miscampbell Township just outside Fort Fran-
ces.No 2,3,7,8-TCDD was found at a detection level of 20 parts per quadrillion
---"(MOE Press Release July 17, 1986)
The use of the phrase "also tested leachate" may indicate that there
is a leak. If there was no leak then they wouldn't have been able to test
"leachate".
9) The Active waste dump sites A610101 and A610301 were both clasified as
B4 ie. mainly hazardous to the environment in the 1986 inventory. In the
May 1988 inventory their status has been changed to A2 and A4 respectivley.
The "A" category indicates the highest hazard to humans. So, it means that
they must have done testing recently and reports should be available.
10)The Closed waste dump site 610103 apeared on the 1986 inventory but
was not present in the May 1988 inventory. Dumps don't just dissapear.
11)The areas mentioned are in the vacinity of Fort Frances and Rainy Lake.
12)There are several First Nation Bands which may eat fish or get their
drinking water from the Fort Frances/Rainy Lake Area: Couchiching Band,
Stangecoming Band,Naicatchewenin Band,Seine River Band and possibly
others.
13)At"Couchiching Band outside Fort Frances people are dying and have
died of cancer. There is something definitely wrong within that geographical
area.Countless peoples have died."(Letter from Rudy Bruyere,Treaty#3
Health Policy Analyst)
14)An essential document for a better understanding of the whole Pulp Mill/
Dioxin/Toxic Waste Dump Site situation is:"No Margin of Safety: A Preliminary
Report on Dioxin Pollution and the Need For Emergency Action in the Pulp and
Paper Industry"1987, By: C. van Strum & P. Merrell, 100 pp., $10.00
-this document details what chemical pollutants are comming out of pulp and
paper mills in Ontario, Canada and the U.S.A. and explains the effects on
people, plants and animals. The main focus of the report is on cancer
causing Dioxin e.g. at the Pulp and Paper Mill at Fort Frances, Ontario
and in fish nearby.
-To obtain this useful document write or telephone: Scott Shibley,Greenpeace
(Toronto), 427 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1X7
Telephone: (416) 538-6470, FAX: (416) 968-9522, Note: if you FAX a message
please make sure you put "Attn:Greenpeace-Toronto" on your FAX message.
Well---Hope this information is of use to you to eliminate pollution
in the Fort Frances/Rainy River area. Also, any comments, suggestions
would be most welcome and if you have any documents which might be
helpful in stoping some of this pollution please----please! feel free
to send it to me.
Here is a quote from Dr. David Suzuki which is apropriate for
these uncertain times. Dr. Suzuki is a journalist,scientist,author,
and famous T.V.personality here in Canada.
P.S. "Native peoples have an attitude in which the humans
are a part of a much greater picture. They know that
you don't kick the shit out of nature because you know
nature is going to bounce back and hit you in the face.
If we environmentalists care about saving anything, we
have to throw our lot in totally with native land claims.
If we succeed, we will save the last vestiges of our
wilderness, and in the process we will come to realize
that there is a radically different way of looking at
the world"-David Suzuki
nmm@apss.ab.ca (Neil McCulloch) (11/14/88)
In article <544@yunccn.UUCP>, john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) writes: > Keywords: Dioxin Pollution Health > 1)"Tests have revealed 210 parts per trillion of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most > > 1 to 9 parts per trillion." (MOE Press Release July 17,1986) > > ces.No 2,3,7,8-TCDD was found at a detection level of 20 parts per quadrillion Would someone with experience of testing for trace chemicals care to comment on these levels? 20 parts per quadrillion! Now that's 20 parts in 1,000,000,000,000,000. I find it hard to believe that reliable measurements can be made at this level from samples taken in the field. thanks, neil
soley@ontenv.UUCP (Norman S. Soley) (11/15/88)
In article <591@apss.apss.ab.ca>, nmm@apss.ab.ca (Neil McCulloch) writes: > In article <544@yunccn.UUCP>, john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) writes: > > 1)"Tests have revealed 210 parts per trillion of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most > > > > 1 to 9 parts per trillion." (MOE Press Release July 17,1986) > > > > ces.No 2,3,7,8-TCDD was found at a detection level of 20 parts per quadrillion > > Would someone with experience of testing for trace chemicals care to > comment on these levels? 20 parts per quadrillion! Now that's 20 parts in > 1,000,000,000,000,000. I find it hard to believe that reliable measurements > can be made at this level from samples taken in the field. I am not speaking from the position of authority you seek, and although I work for the organization which published (and holds the copyrights on ;->) the documents from which the figures were drawn I for darn sure don't speak for them now. Misinterpretation of scientific reports is common on the part of the media, for instance contrary to what the newspaper tells them some people who test positive for HIV antibodies are refusing to actally contract AIDS. The problem being that one of the original reports on AIDS contained some statistics which were grossly misinterpreted by the press to mean that HIV exposure leads irreversably to AIDS then death. The quoted figures are all drawn from press releases written by, yes you got it, former reporters. If one were to go back to the original scientific reports a clearer picture might emerge. In this case I gather that what was being reported on are the results of a "exists/does not exist" test which is believed to have a threshold in the order of the figure quoted. Considering some of the things that medical science is able to detect in a complex fluid like human blood it shouldn't be too hard to spot traces of something as complex as 2,3,7,8-TCDD in a simple fluid like water (as cluttered as a field smaple might be it's got nothing on what we cart around in our bloodstream) also considering just how dangerous that little guy is (makes PCB's look like drinking water) I certianly hope the detection threshold is very low. -- Norman Soley - Data Communications Analyst - Ontario Ministry of the Environment UUCP: uunet!attcan!lsuc!ncrcan!ontenv!soley VOICE: +1 416 323 2623 OR: soley@ontenv.UUCP " Stay smart, go cool, be happy, it's the only way to get what you want"
rcgood@trillium.waterloo.edu (Rob Good MAPLE tutor) (11/15/88)
In article <544@yunccn.UUCP> john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) writes: >Keywords: Dioxin Pollution Health > > >DIOXIN POLLUTION AND TOXIC WASTE DUMP SITES IN THE FORT FRANCES >AREA: SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND SOME LITTLE KNOWN FACTS > I was reading the article about dioxin in the Fort Frances Area that was posted to this newsgroup and thought the views of someone from the Fort Frances area would be of interest. I have lived in the Fort Frances area for the last 15 years, and in the town of Fort Frances for the last 5 years (aside from the time spent going to university in Waterloo). The Fort Frances area (aka the Rainy River District) has a population of about 20 000, while the town of Fort Frances has a population of about 8 500. Fort Frances is essentially a one industry town i.e. BOISE CASCADE. The typical attitude regarding Boise Cascade in Fort Frances is: We'd better not do anything to piss Boise off or they might leave and then the town would die. Not a surprising attitude in a one industry town; and I suspect not one unique to Fort Frances. It is also not too surprising that the town tends to 'look the other way' at news of the dioxin issue in the area; and in fact the local media, shall I say, downplays the level of the problem. It wasn't until I read that posting that *I* found out about the number of dump sites in that area. I think the general problem is that no one from that area wants to make waves; and no one from outside that area really knows what's going one. I should also mention that the town of Fort Frances is on the border between Ontario and Minnesota. The town of International Falls, Minn. is right across the border from Fort Frances. There is also a Boise Cascade mill in that town. I wonder how many dump sites there are on the American side of the border, and what condition they are in. All in all it seems a pretty scary situation. Guess what I'll be talking about when I go home this Christmas.... ----- Rob Good from Fort 'Dioxin' Frances -----
mike@ists (Mike Clarkson) (11/16/88)
In article <591@apss.apss.ab.ca>, nmm@apss.ab.ca (Neil McCulloch) writes: > In article <544@yunccn.UUCP>, john@yunccn.UUCP (John Hummel) writes: > > Keywords: Dioxin Pollution Health > > 1)"Tests have revealed 210 parts per trillion of 2,3,7,8-TCDD, the most > > > > 1 to 9 parts per trillion." (MOE Press Release July 17,1986) > > > > ces.No 2,3,7,8-TCDD was found at a detection level of 20 parts per quadrillion > > Would someone with experience of testing for trace chemicals care to > comment on these levels? 20 parts per quadrillion! Now that's 20 parts in > 1,000,000,000,000,000. I find it hard to believe that reliable measurements > can be made at this level from samples taken in the field. I used to do work doing trace detection of toxic chemicals in air, and I'd believe their detection limits. Parts per trillion on something like dioxin is not hard to do with GC/MS, which is gas chromatography to seperate the components, followed by mass spectrometry to identify and quantify them. If you know what molecule you are looking for, then you can use MS/MS which is much more sensitive. 20 ppq should be obtainable with MS/MS from a solid or liquid sample. Dioxin is a large and very stable molecule. That's why it doesn't break down in the environment. This means that you can do a lot of sample work up to isolate the dioxin without worrying about breaking it up in the process. It also means that you'll have a very nice fragmentation pattern to identify it with MS/MS. These instruments are very sensitive. People in the Toronto area might want to ask Ben Johnson just how sensitive they really are. He knows. Mike. -- Mike Clarkson mike@ists.UUCP Institute for Space and Terrestrial Science mike@ists.yorku.ca York University, North York, Ontario, uunet!mnetor!yunexus!ists!mike CANADA M3J 1P3 +1 (416) 736-5611