My name is Mike Cushman. I have written and spoken to
many people and organizations about my family and many others that have
received and suffered from illnesses. These illnesses are caused by the
constant exposure to emissions from burning coal (coke).
My grandmother died of breast cancer, my mother died of
pancreatic cancer, my aunt died of breast cancer, my sister had breast
cancer and a masectomy, I had chronic bronchitis, allergies, and a low
immunity system. My other sister has reproductive problems(endometriosis).
I grew curious when my mother, sister and aunt were all effected by cancers
within a three and one half year period.
We all grew up and lived in the same area. Glennveiw/Silvertown,
where the prevailing west winds blew over the emissions from a chemical
factory called the Cyanamid. The Cyanamid had 7 carbide furnaces and 7
air-blast furnaces which burned coal in their processes. I have been trying
to get a complete list of the emissions that were given off from the Cyanamid.
It would cost me a lot of money to get a list from the ministry of environment,
imagine that , in order to find out what is killing my family and making
others sick, I have to pay for information that my tax dollars already
paid for.
My sisters volunteered for a gene study to help the cause
and it was found that one sister with breast cancer had the mutated gene
BRCA1 and the other sister did not. I phoned The Center for Research in
Women's Health and asked them some questions. I was informed that 30,000
genes come from your mother 30,000 genes come from you father, if your
mother carried the mutated gene then there is a 50/50 chance her eggs
will contain the mutated gene. Based on that, if you carry the mutated
gene you have a 50/50 chance that your offspring will carry the gene.
So I asked, "I can accept that it is hereditary but at some point
in time it had to be environmental. Her studies don't cover that. Then
I asked have you ever taken the studies you have done and plotted the
areas these people lived in to see if there is a common factor?"
Again her studies did not cover that.
It seems to me, if I wanted to find a cure, I would take
these studies and find out everything to crush the disease. I have spoken
with the ministry of the environment. They took twenty years of air emission
tests. Here is the opening statement of the man that took these tests
TD3: Routine air monitoring has been conducted in the Regional Municipality
of Niagara since the early 1970s to identify sources of pollution, evaluate
their emissions, and institute appropriate control measures. In addition
to monitoring specific industrial sources, monitoring of general air quality
is conducted in various localities to determine if air quality objectives
are being met and to observe trends in air pollution. This report summarizes
the results of air monitoring in the region for the year. Detailed information
is given for Niagara Falls, Chippawa, Port Colborne, St. Catharines, suspended
particulate. They showed that the factories tested were all way over the
acceptable limits.
The Ministry of Environment NEVER WARNED ANY OF US that
generations of our families may be in danger. NEVER SHUT DOWN any of the
companies by using the results of these tests.
From 1974-1993 the Ministry of Environment knew that the
suspended particulate released from the Norton, General Abrasives, The
Fourth Ave. Cyanamid Plant and The Welland, Gartner Rd. Plant were polluting
through air, ground and water. Enough to consider that there would most
likely be health problems caused by this. Not once did the Ministry of
Environment tell the Ministry of Health that there could be reason for
concern, that over exposure to these toxic pollutants most likely
will result from people's exposure to them, according to the regional
health epidemiologist .
When speaking with the epidemiologist from the Niagara
Regional Health Office, I was told they never saw any outstanding cancer
or any other illness in the Niagara Region. I asked, "Did they ever
do a study on the specific regions of Niagara, like Silvertown,Chippawa,
Thorold, Stanford etc...?" She said "No, they only have data
on the Niagara Region as a whole, from Fort Erie to Niagara on the Lake,
Niagara Falls to Grimsby. How can you determine if there is health problems
in a specific area when you don't take your statistic a little farther?
These are people we entrust to tell us if everything is
in check! Whether our children can swim there, whether they can play in
that field, that it is OK to drink the water, that it is OK to breathe
those emissions for 24/7!
I have done a study on how our system works, you judge
for yourself.
From 1907-1993 a factory called the Cyanamid was allowed
to produce calcium cyanide, calcium Cyanamid and many other products.
At the time they were the biggest employers in the Niagara area. They
used this power to do what ever they wanted in terms of pollution by:
air, water, ground and burying. They got off on many charges and were
given many extensions and freedoms by our governments because of the jobs
at stake. This type of blackmailing was allowed to continue until tourism
became the main attraction.
There were countless complaints and studies done that
prove the knowledge was there to prevent cancers, heart disease, brain
tumors, chronic bronchitis, low immunity system, allergies, reproductive
problems, cell displacia, endometriosis, multiple sclerosis, thyroid problems,
furans and dioxins, lung disease, from the heavy metals and other chemicals
and dusts given off from the Cyanamid processes both emissions and productive
processes.
It is proven that fly ash (which is the suspended particulate)
given off from the burning of coal (coke) is a major health concern because
of the cancers and illnesses that are associated with it. There are many
news paper articles that describe accidents, complaints, concerns, environmental
disasters, charges all concerning the Cyanamid corporations.
I described the Cyanamid processes to a chemist in England.
England is one of the highest authorities on the effects of burning coal.
He confirmed the illnesses could be caused by the Cyanamid and General
Abrasive ... processes.
When searching the Internet for information, I found information
on fly ash that was an almost identical match to the information I received
from England. I also found Environment Canada's Web Site ,when typing
in air pollution , up came a screen, with a warning of suspended particulate
exposures.
I have a list of people that grew up in Glennview (Silvertown)
Niagara Falls Ontario Canada and the surrounding area with many sicknesses
e.g. multiple scleroses, thyroid problems, fibermiology, sleeping disease,
breast cancer, pancreatic cancers, brain cancer(tumors), chronic bronchitis,
thyroid problems, endometriosis, cell displacia ,fertility problems, allergies,
learning disorders, many people that had learning problems as children...
This is not a highly populated area.
I was guided to the Environmental protection act and
The Environmental Bill of Rights. Major break through legislation that
was encouraging the public to get involved with these policies and regulations
on the environment. When I start to use this there is a statute of limitations
on air emissions. This statute is only covered for two years. It protects
the government and the companies from past mistakes because new studies
done by the government have shown that suspended particulate is the number
one cause of ;heart disease, cancers, lung disease,and many other illnesses.
There have been studies done on the landfill sight left
behind by the Cyanamid Fourth Ave. facility that stated there was reason
for concern that the chemicals there will cause health effects to humans
.Yet the land fill sight has had nothing done to it to clean up the land.
It is known that there is cyanide ,ammonia,and many other toxic substances
left there that are seeping into the Niagara River and the great lakes
even though the Cyanamid (cytec) were suppose to cap the entire area with
a thick layer of clay and vegetation.
From 1907-present the Cyanamid corporation has been allowed
to effect our health from generation to generation and the plant closed
in 1993!
The City of Niagara Falls is going to call this sight
a brown field and reuse the land. New legislation has slackened the laws
and permitted this to happen. So despite all the studies and all the illness
and all the pollution,our tax paying dollars are going to go into redeveloping
known contaminated land ,never making the company responsible for leaving
it behind and people will continue to pass cancer, heart disease and many
other illnesses on.
Now New York State is confirming what I am saying about
the slack attitude towards human health from our governments and their
environmental regulations. There were many studies done on the factories
of the Niagara region and four factories kept coming up. The Norton,General
Abrasives,Cyanamid Fourth Ave. Facility,Cyanamid Welland Facility. Results
of the air emissions tests downtown Thorold was by far the worst for suspended
particulate. The Cyanamid fourth Ave. was over the limits by 100% in some
instances and Thorold was way worse than that.
Our governments, Federal, Provincial and Municipal are
all guilty of negligence in my opinion. Our right to a healthy lifestyle
has been jeopardized. Generations to come still possess the cancer genes,
and no-one is accountable for it. How many people have died premature
deaths?How many more? How many people have had learning disorders, asthma,
allergies, heart and lung disease,cancers?
What can be done to get the Cyanamid sights cleaned up?
One draining into the Welland River and one into the Niagara River.
Finally there is a scientist that is doing a study that
shows that cancer is caused from emissions first then passed through gene
transfer. I find it truly shocking how the almighty dollar comes before
humanity. The Cyanamid fourth Ave. Landfill sight has gone untouched for
decades while in 1986-87 it was deemed the most worrisome for health hazards.
In 1986 this dump was listed as having the potential to endanger human
health. In 1987 there was a report that listed the sight operated between
1896-1920, as one of the 46 in the province which might have buried coal
tar wastes. In a hydrogeological report ,done by Gartner and Lee, it was
said 192,000 cubic meters of toxic waste. In 1979 a portion of the waste
was removed for disposal sent to the Cyanamid Welland facility. It was decided that the removal of the waste would out cost the
redevelopment of the land hence they were to cap it with clay and plant
vegetation. They were never held to even that.
