VICKI ROBERTSON:
What lies beneath
CBC News Viewpoint | June 30, 2005 | More from Vicki Robertson
Vicki Robertson grew up in the Halifax area, with close ties to the military. After traveling for many years, Vicki and her husband Alan settled in Bedford, Nova Scotia. While working full-time in the IT industry, she satisfies her curiosity about life and her love of education by attending Mt. Saint Vincent University as a part-time student.
As a kid living in Dartmouth in the 1960s, I would sneak down to the forbidden waterfront with my friends. There were tales of treasures to be found along the shore, and we wanted in on it. Each year, the stories became more gruesome. A severed arm was found, then a leg, then a half-eaten body. All we really found were funny-looking balloons.
 Halifax harbour
The scoring was relatively simple: one point for the plastic backing of a sanitary napkin, two points for a plastic tampon applicator, and five points for a used condom, with bonus points for designer colours and styles. I won. He couldn't bring himself to utter the words "tampon" or "condom" in time to get the points.
A few months back, there was an ad that reminded me of this pastime in The Coast, our alternative weekly paper. A navy diver was asking for co-operation from the general public. His request was quite simple: please do not flush tampon applicators ("harbour whistles") and condoms ("harbour trout") down the toilet. He reasoned that it's tough to look macho with a tampon stuck in your mask, or a condom dangling from it.
For the past 80 years, Haligonians have known that using our harbour as the communal loo wasn't such a hot idea, and the problem goes far beyond floating unmentionables. In 1924, a study confirmed that the raw sewage dumped into the inner harbour by 13 outflow pipes was causing pollution problems.
More recent figures show that we're up to 40 outflows dumping 187 million litres of raw sewage each day. We no longer have a harbour – we have a colossal septic tank – including the toxins and bacteria that go with it. A recent suicide should remind us that this is no laughing matter.
Larry Mahan was the captain and owner of the Larinda, an 86-foot Boston Schooner replica that made Halifax a port of call just as hurricane Juan was also preparing for a visit. During the storm, the Larinda sank.
 Harbour trout and whistle
Since the 1924 study, there have been numerous hints that we're in trouble. In 1969, 1977, and again in 1988, studies recommended that treatment plants be built. Between 1989 and 1995, there was much navel gazing, but little progress. In 1996, the four regions surrounding the harbour amalgamated, and we started from scratch.
The latest attempt to move forward was in 1998 when the regional municipal council agreed to forge ahead based on the latest recommendations. Haligonians breathed a huge sigh of relief that our dirty little secret would be remedied. But so far, the harbour cleanup project has consisted of broken promises, court actions, funding woes and territorial spats. If you didn't know better, you would believe it was a really bad reality show.
After numerous false starts, we're finally seeing real progress. The tourists may be a bit put off by the street closures and thwacking of jackhammers this summer, but perhaps a giant "Washroom being cleaned" sign hanging from the harbour bridges would help.
Unfortunately, Haligonians are not the only Nova Scotians with a toxic waste dump in their backyards. In 1980, high levels of toxins and metals were found in Sydney Harbour lobsters. It was traced back to Muggah Creek (more commonly known as the tar ponds) where contaminants were dumped for years as byproducts of steel production and coal mining.
 Plastic backing
Back in January, I wrote about my friend Darryl who had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The cause of this disease is largely unknown, but there is suspicion it's linked to the environment. As a kid, Darryl remembers playing at his grandmother's house in Sydney close to the tar ponds, in the orange snow.
In 2002, signs went up around the tar ponds warning of human health hazard, yet for the previous 22 years, there has been nothing but debate and discussion, studies and stalling. Hopes were raised six years ago when CBC.ca boldly pronounced, "Sydney tar ponds may finally get cleaned up." A few months later, Don Deleski began his one-man remediation project with a shovel.
Last year, a comprehensive report was developed for the Sydney tar ponds that recommended, among other things, another assessment. It also estimates that it will take until 2013 to complete the cleanup – eight more years. Of course, that's in Nova Scotia years.
Nova Scotia is Canada's ocean playground, but watch your step.
^TOP
CBC Ombudsman
|
|
 |
 MENU |
|
|
| ABOUT VIEWPOINT: |
Viewpoint is CBC.ca's place for informed opinion and commentary. Our goal is to provide a range of informed perspectives from around the world and here at home on issues of interest to Canadians. All material published in the Viewpoint section is subject to CBC’s journalistic policy, standards and practices.
Writing for Viewpoint
We accept queries from people with significant expertise in their field and previous writing experience. We are interested in domestic and international contributions. We do not accept unsolicited finished pieces.
If you want to contribute to Viewpoint, please send your query to letters@cbc.ca with VIEWPOINT in the subject line and please include three samples of your published work. Columns are typically 800 words in length and focus on timely issues, events or personal stories with wide appeal. Please familiarize yourself with our content before submitting your ideas. Only those accepted will be contacted.
|
|
| FEEDBACK: |
|
|
| MORE: |
|
|
|
