Content of an e-mail sent to MPP Steve Gilchrist, September 27:
Hi, Steve:
I found out tonight that the City had been excavating on Port Union Road, a short distance south of Lawrence. I do not know what the purpose of this exacavation was. The excavation is approximately 12' long and goes the width of the road. I asked, at the Manson meeting tonight [Sept 27, 2000], if the City had given any thought to the possibility of uncovering asbestos dust, friable asbestos or asbestos-cement pipe during the course of this excavation. The City representatives looked suitably vague and said it was the Works Department - [name deleted], they thought.
After the meeting, in the dark, I went along to the exacavation, now filled in and heavily compacted, and taking a look around, I found a piece of asbestos-cement pipe (see Ed note below) embedded in the dirt. I phoned the MOE Spills line. A gentleman by the name of Joe Lusko(?) took the report and said he would pass it on to the Toronto office. He suggested I call the Toronto office in the morning.
I am enraged at the hypocrisy of the City and their callous disregard for the health of the workers at that excavation and the surrounding community. We make Yellow Moon jump through hoops to remediate the Manson Site and not ten yards away the City blithely excavates with no precautions or forethought. If [name deleted] was in charge of this project, he has no excuse. He has been involved with the ramifications of Manville's actions for years. Furthermore, some years ago, as a sidebar activity to the Intracorp fiasco on the Manson Site, asbestos-cement pipe was removed from the side of Port Union Road. The City is either incapable of putting two and two together and coming up with any answer at all or they simply do not care. I am appalled and disgusted.
I will do my best to try and follow up on this tomorrow, but I work in a very frantic environment, inconducive to long phone calls. Steve, I would appreciate any help you can give us in following this up with the MOE. I would like them to appreciate the gravity of the City's irresponsible actions. I will try to contact Chris Beatson of the MOL, on behalf of the City workers involved.
Liz Bowers
Planning Chair, C.C.R.A.
Strange parallels with The Intracorp Fiasco
Ed. note: the Ministry of the Environment analyzed the sample, and reported it as 80% asbestos fibre (chrysotile/crocidolite) and 20% mineral filler. Transite contains in the order of 5% asbestos fibre.
