OCCUPATIONAL WORK EXPOSURES

O.K. this is maybe a stretch for an environmental blog but what the heck here goes. Today's Waterloo Region Record carries the following opinion piece titled "Sick workers aren't forgotten". The author is Janice Martell who is the founder of the McIntyre Powder Project. That project name refers to the powder that was liberally doused over miners in northern Ontario allegedly to protect them from silicosis I think. That lung disease was common among miners due to possibly exposure to asbestos or perhaps another underground compound. Oh heck as you can see I'm not certain which toxic compound it was supposed to protect miners from but it turns out that the McIntyre Powder itself was toxic. I have a personal friend here in Elmira whose father died when my friend was only five years old, courtesy of McIntyre Powder.

June 1 is the annual Injured Workers Day and workers and their families gather both locally and in Toronto at Queen's Park (Ontario legislature). Ms. Martell in her opinion piece is praising Greg Mercer of the Record for his series on local rubber workers in Kitchener-Waterloo and their suffering from occupational diseases. She is also points out that there currently are four known occupational disease clusters in Ontario namely the McIntyre Powder Project, GE Peterborough workers and widows, Victims of Chemical Valley (Sarnia) and Kitchener rubber workers. While neighbours, families, and residents may suffer health and environmental effects from these industries, clearly the workers spending eight hours per day or more in close proximity to the toxins involved suffer horribly. Ms. Martell is sending a rallying cry out to those victimized through no more fault then trying to provide for their families.