Conference kaosws::canada

    As I understand it almost every province has passed a regulation
    prohibiting the importing of PCBs.  So if a province can't dispose
    of them itself, they have to ship them out of country.
    
    
    The term 'provincialism' must have been invented for Canada!
    
    M

The August 28 issue of Maclean's Magazine says:

"Negotiations to ship the St-Basile PCBs to Swan Hills for burning were 
suspended when Alberta officials told their Quebec counterparts that they 
could not immediately accept the wastes for disposal due to a backlog of 
locally held PCBs slated for destruction."
        
[Apparently the facility at Swan Hills, Alta. is the only one in Canada
capable of doing the job.]

- Stephen

    I wonder if these are part of the two consignments turned away at
    Liverpool Docks(UK).
    
    A UK company was willing to take the cargo but the dockers and the
    Port Management refused to handle the cargo.
    Don't know where the cargo is now(the freighter was Russian).
    
    Alan H

    re: 0.3
    
    Sorry, if I didn't make it clear.
    
    The ship was Russian but the consignment was from Quebec.
    
    Alan H

It's clear that we have to take this stuff back.  But I wonder if people are 
not over-reacting to the issue as a whole?

I have heard a number of interviews of ecologists/scientists on CBC radio where 
these people state that the danger of PCB's is grossly over-stated.  It's 
more of a media issue they say, as no-one has died from PCB exposure at this 
point (not including gasses from burning).  Research indicates that PCB's are 
close to the bottom of a very long list of dangerous items that are commonly 
found in our environment (DDT,dioxin,dieldrin,malathion,mercury,asbestos etc).

Between 1965 and 1967, I almost on a daily basis has my hands/arms in 
tronformer oil at the Prince Albert Radar Lab.  At that time, all transformer 
oil contained PCB's.  In fact a lot of the so-called contaminated material is 
transformer oil of various kinds.  I am perfectly healthy.  I don't have 
cancer, and never got sick from this extreme exposure.  I have never heard of 
anyone getting sick from this. 

I am curious about this.  Some of you probably will think that I have been 
listning to the wrong interviews, but wait, have *you* ever been in contact 
with the stuff?  Anyone out there have experiences similar to mine, and how is 
you health?

Lets-burn-the-stuff-and-get-on-with-life.

Fred

	Re .5
	
	I agree with your basic point - there are lots of substances around
	that are more dangerous than PCBs, and what we have is a media frenzy.

	However, the "I've been exposed to it and I'm all right" argument is
	like "I've been smoking for the last 40 years and I'm fine".

	What we need is a measure of risk. Something like, 1 hour's contact
	with PCBs is as likely to cause cancer as smoking N cigarettes.

	When you look at it, people's reactions have very little correlation
	with real risk. Look at the people who think flying is risky, but
	drive in Massachusetts.

	Tony

    
    Re: Note 219.6 
    
    >> Look at the people who think flying is risky, but drive in Mass....>>
    
    An ultimate analogy. That's why we should insist on using submarines
    and sub-terrainian vehicles to get around ? :-(i)

    
    
    
    I've just read that the PCBs are back in Quebec, this time in
    Mulroney's back yard, Baie-Comeau.
    
    
    rb
    
    

    The French acronym for PCB is BPC.
    
    	On the news I saw a sign in Baie Comeau that read:
    
    		"Les vitamines BPC sont ici"  or something like that.
    
    This is a play on words and in sounds like vitamines B and C. They
    have a good sense of humour up there on the North Shore. I was
    chuckling for a good 5 minutes over that one...
    
    Of course I laugh at nearly everything including Pat Rushton
    
    Glenn ;-)

    The stuff is only harmfull if it is BURNED at LOW temperatures,
    otherwise it is harmless (so is tobbaco, don't smoke=no harm).
    
    On another note, I read in the paper last saturday that rain water
    that runs off from dumps is so lethal that a spoonfull is enough
    to kill a horse, THAT is something to worry about!
    
    Jean
    
    

re .5
>Between 1965 and 1967, I almost on a daily basis has my hands/arms in 
>tronformer oil at the Prince Albert Radar Lab.  At that time, all transformer 
>oil contained PCB's.  In fact a lot of the so-called contaminated material is 
>transformer oil of various kinds.  I am perfectly healthy.  I don't have 
>cancer, and never got sick from this extreme exposure.  I have never heard of 
>anyone getting sick from this. 

"I am perfectly healthy"???

I always associated your premature aging and loss of hair to 
"Oldtimers" disease, but thanks for the clarification! :-)

Mike

    Fred:
    
      .5 explains an awful lot.  Thanks for the insite!  Hope your "sores"
    heal.