Toxic clinker dust in Port Weller must be contained immediately: NDP

Following reports that clinker dust – a toxic substance – is being improperly stored at the Port Weller Marine Terminal in St. Catharines, Ontario NDP MPP for the riding, Jennie Stevens, called on the environment minister to ensure the toxic substance be immediately contained in order to ensure the health and safety of the community.

“There are documented health risks when exposed to this dust,” Stevens said. “It has been piled in the Port Weller Marine Terminal for well over a year and while it’s been piled up, winds have been carrying into neighbourhoods, coating people’s homes and green spaces.”

Clinker dust is a toxic substance that can cause skin irritation, burning eyes, respiratory irritation, and even cancer or lung disease with repeated exposure through inhalation. The substance is being unloaded from ships and has been unsafely stored in the Port Weller Marine Terminal for over a year – allowing it to blow onto nearby parks, beaches and neighborhoods.

Stevens explained that local residents of the Port Weller community are rightfully concerned about not only their own health and safety but that of their communities.

“This clinker dust is certainly a health and safety issue,” Stevens said. It’s a serious matter of the Port Weller community losing their quality of life. Property values are decreasing and people can’t sell their homes. Residents have expressed that because of the clinker dust they can’t enjoy their communities the way they used to.”

“Will the minister commit to engaging with the residents, local governments in St. Catharines and the relevant authorities to put a stop to the clinker dust plaguing the Port Weller community?”

Stevens sent a letter to the environment minister last week about the issue. The minister has yet to take action.