By
Eric McGuinness
The Hamilton Spectator
(Dec 7, 2006)
Bayfront industries should label their smokestacks so residents know who to blame when black stuff spews over their neighbourhoods.
The call for numbers or colour-coding comes from Environment Hamilton, as the Ontario Ministry of the Environment prepares for a meeting tonight at Sir Winston Churchill High School on its probe into sooty fallout over east Hamilton.
Brenda Johnson, project manager for Environment Hamilton, said the idea came from residents who have been watching stacks closely since the first of a series of fallout incidents at the end of July.
She said well over 100 stacks dot the bayfront skyline, some barely poking out of rooftops, others tall enough to need aircraft-warning lights. A senior ministry official said it took her years to figure them out.
"We've met with several industries and they said, 'Call us when you see something,' but residents say the first thing they're asked is: 'Which stack is it? How do you know it's Dofasco?'
"Descriptions like the 'short, blue one by the end of my street' or 'the skinny, green one next to the tall, brown one,' are neither helpful for the company nor for the people concerned," said Johnson.
Columbian Chemicals, which produces carbon black, has said it will mark its stacks. Dofasco spokesman Bill Gair said, "We will not, but we have provided labelled diagrams. To put numbers or paint on, is not safe, and we have no way to get someone up some of the stacks to do that."
The ministry has added air samplers in the industrial core to capture and measure carbon black, the substance responsible for greasy, hard-to-remove deposits that cause the most complaints. It's also placed temporary samplers at some of the hardest-hit homes and stationed an air-monitoring bus at Sir Winston Churchill to get more data.
The ministry says it will work to have all stacks labelled on Environment Hamilton's website to help identify emission sources. emcguinness@thespec.com 905-526-4650
Soot continues to be a problem
Dec, 07 2006 - 5:50 AM
HAMILTON (AM900 CHML) - Here's the latest in the fallout from the black soot that's been falling on parts of east Hamilton.
Environment Hamilton is calling for a labelling system on the city's smokestacks.
That way it would be easier for residents to identify which stack may be spewing the soot over their neighbourhood.
There are more than 100 smokestacks on the bayfront skyline, and even the environment ministry says it took years to figure them out.
The ministry says it will now work to have all stacks labelled on Environment Hamilton's website.
This comes as ministry officials get set to meet with residents at Sir Winston Churchill High school tonight.