Six Nations incinerator had carcinogens above limits: report
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 12:43 PM -
A garbage incinerator that was in operation for months on an Ontario Six Nations reserve spewed dangerous toxins and cancer-causing agents at up to 200 times the provincial limit, according to a report recently obtained by the CBC.
The report -- which was published in November 2014 -- states the $4.8 million incinerator in Oshweken (locally referred to as a disintegrator) released up to 200 times the provincial limits of carcinogens and 25 times the limit of lead and cadmium.
Above-average levels of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide were released as well.
"That thing was a disaster," Derek Sandy told the CBC. Sandy is one of many who protested the machine in June after black smoke could be seen during the trial period. "I tried to go to band council and tried to talk to them myself…They didn't want to hear us."
According to the CBC, local council purchased the unit in an effort to solve a waste crisis in the community, which is located about 25 km southwest of Hamilton, Ont.
The area's landfill was intended to last for 40 years but filled up in 2006 after 20 years of use.
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Officials purchased the incinerator with the impression it could burn all forms of waste with no need to recycle. They believed it would create zero emissions. They paid $480,000 -- a tenth of the unit's price -- to transport a loaner to the reserve from Nova Scotia.
The unit ran for five months at the start of 2014. Residents rallied to have the unit shut down in June when it was seen spewing black smoke. Other residents have complained of hazy conditions and the smell of burnt plastic.
Representatives for the unit have declined to comment.
A three-day test in November, 2014 showed the unit was spewing an alarming amount of toxins into the atmosphere. The community will meet with council Thursday to discuss the findings.
Editor's Note: The original image with this story was a stock image of a generic smokestack and not an image of the specific device mentioned in this story. The image has been removed.
Source: CBC Hamilton
