Toxics

As a society we have seen cancer rates in Canada increase by 1% each and every year. Increasing awareness of high-risk products to protect Canadians from unnecessary health risks is paramount to Sierra Club Canada’s Health and Environment program area.

The immediate needs of those living in toxic sites such as the Sydney Tar ponds, fall under the Toxics and Human Health program. Sierra Club Canada has demonstrated a continued commitment to the problem of toxic sites in Canada by encouraging the federal government to create a Clean Canada Fund to clean up toxic areas.

The Toxics and Human Health program is committed to supporting, assisting and protecting the citizens of contaminated communities like those in Sydney, NS. A study on household dust, funded by Sierra Club Canada, in homes surrounding Canada's worst hazardous waste sight, the Sydney tar ponds, was published in Environmental Health Perspectives. It concluded that lead, arsenic, and PAH that come from a century of industrial activity, are moving into homes. It recommends that the scope of the cleanup be extended to include the surrounding community. The residents of Sydney know all too well about the seriousness of contamination as Sydney has the highest per capital cancer rate in the nation as well as the lowest life expectancy.

The safe disposal of industrial chemicals, the phasing-out of toxic chemicals used in manufacturing and encouraging Canada to be a leader in international toxics policies are also part of our program. Many toxic chemicals which add to our body burden can be directly connected to common household products and practices. As a result our Toxics and Human Health Program area promises to educate and encourage safe alternatives to household hazardous products as well as the prevention of endocrine disruption and cancer.