Dying for Development: The legacy of lead in Belledune Published by: Conservation Council of New Brunswick Inc. 180 St. John Street Fredericton, NB E3B 4A9 Tel: (506) 458-8747 Fax: (506) 458-1047 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.conservationcouncil.ca This report is published under the auspices of the Conservation Council’s Environmental Justice Program. The Conservation Council is a registered charity in Canada. Graphics: Imprint Communications and Inuk Simard Design: Imprint Communications Aerial Photographs: Nova Scotia Geomatics Centre Cover: The photograph of Junia Culligan, a life-long Belledune resident and retired community health nurse, was taken by Simon Bujold (Montréal) and generously donated for this publication. It was taken in November 2003 at a massive public rally/protest against the construction of an incinerator in Belledune. The smokestack seen in the background is NB Power’s coal-fired power plant opened in 1993. Reproduction of this report in part or full requires written permission from the Conservation Council. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Dying for Development: the legacy of lead in Belledune 1. lead smelter - Belledune, New Brunswick 2. lead - health and environmental impacts 3. provincial and federal environmental regulations - enforcement 4. industrial development - sacrifice zones I. Milewski, Inka ISBN- 0-9687419-9-1 © 2006 Conservation Council of New Brunswick Inc. Dying for Development: ii The legacy of lead in Belledune Table of Contents Acknowledgments 2 Introduction 5 1. Birth of a smelter 6 2. Smoke on the horizon 9 3. Solution to pollution is dilution 15 4. Lead intoxication 18 5. Fall-out 30 6.