3 - Sunday, February 12, 1989 - North Shore News NEWS photos Mike Wakefield WEST VANCOUVER firefighters pack up gear (left) after battling a blaze early Friday mozning at a West Vancouver home located at 1275 Chartwell Crescent. Fire crews responded to the scene at 3:58 a.m. A fire department spokesperson said homeowner Giovanni Zen and family were not injured in the fire. But two firefighters were injured while working to douse the fire. One suffered from smoke inhalation and enother cut a finger. Both were sent to Lions Gate Hospital but were released later in the day. The house (above) was extensively damaged. A Rolls Royce and a sports car were also damaged by fire. West Vancouver Police and the fire department are investigating the fire. Lower Lonsdale redevelopment may force residents to MOST LOWER Lonsdale residents are below the national poverty level and would have difficulty finding equally af- fordable housing elsewhere on the North Shore, according to a report released Monday by North Vancouver City’s Planning Services Department. Lower Lonsdale residents ‘‘will be adversely affected (by redevelopment) since the rents are lower (and the accommodation poorer) than other areas on the By CORINNE BJORGE Contributing Writer North Shore,’’ says the report, adding that residents might have to relocate off the North snore to find affordable housing. The study says the Lower Lons- dale area is “‘likely to experience the most pressure for redevelop- ment,’”’ but adds that 64 per cent of the residents oppose redevelopment. “Living in Lower Lonsdale is like living in a small town. There are not a lot of people living here, but everyone knows each other. The area has character,”’ said one resident in response to the survey. “*If Lower Lonsdale is ‘redeveloped there will be no place for lower income people to live. It is impossible to find a place to live in Vancouver. I have just got 2 job, but my income will not in- crease much more than wren | was on welfare,”’ said another. But not ali Lower Lonsdale res- idents are against redevelopment. **This is not a good area,”’ said a resident. ‘‘There are a lot of CONTAMINATED SLUDGE DUMPED IN H. SOUND Cadmium causes concern THE DUMPING of approximately 2,000 tonnes of sludge containing elevated levels of cadmium in waters near Howe Sound’s Port Mellon pulp mill has raised the ire of local envivonmentalists. But Environment Canada of- ficials say the amount of the toxic subs.ance in the materia! dumped, whick was dredged from Weldwood of Canada’s Flavelle Cedar mill operation in Port Moody, poses no threat to marine life. Hal Nelson of Environmeat Canada's ocean dumping and con- taminants coniro! division said the dumping was approved for the designated Thornbough Channel dump site because the area already has elevated levels of cadmium that are naturally occurring. “So we are dumping like-on- like,” Nelson said, ‘“‘not increasing the level. It poses no risks to marine life.’’ Nelson said the cadmium level in the sludge was between one and two parts per million (upm), which he said was ‘‘very low."” According to health guidelines in the Ocean Dumping Control Act, cadmium should not exceed .6 ppm in ocean sediments. The contaminants control By TIMOTHY RENSHAW News Reporter department approves dumping of material from construction and industrial sites at four ocean dump sites around the Lower Mainland area, including two in Howe Sound. **The government is trying to turn Howe Sound into a Burrard Inlet.”’ -—Environmentalist Terry Jacks The Thornbough Channel site is between Port Mellon and Gambier Island; the other Howe Sound site is just off Watts Point near Squamish. Material considered too con- taminated to dump in_ inside waterways is taken to a deep ocean site 92 miles off Cape Flattery. The main designated dump site in the Lower Mainland area is off Point Grey, approximately four miles into Georgia Strait. Some of the sludge taken from Port Moody Arm was dumped at the site, but the portion with elevated cadmium levels was taken to Thornbough Channel. Cadmium, which can cause em- physema, kidney and liver im- pairment, bone damage and cancer, is considered one of the most toxic metals to aquatic or- ganisms. Salmonids are particularly sen- sitive to the metallic compound, which has caused damage to reproductive systems of some salmonid species in laboratory tests. Environmental Watch spokesman Terry Jacks said the cadmium will make its way into prawns and crabs in the area. “The government is trying to tum Howe Sound into a Burrard Inlet,’’ Jacks said. Greenpeace biologist Brian Killeen said the level of cadmium in the sludge rendered it ‘‘on the edge of being considred toxic.’’ Moving the sludge Som Port Moody to Howe Sound, he added, would “stir up the mud. it will become the top layer of sediment and work its way up through the food chain.”’ : But Nelson said natural- ly-occurring cadmium has been found in ocean sediment in levels of over one ppm. He conceded that some of the existing cadmium in Thornbough Channel sediment could have orig- inated from the Port Mellon pulp mill. Areas of Howe Sound were closed late fast year after elevated amounts of cancer-causing dioxins and furans were found in fish specimens taken from around the sound’s Port Mellon and Wood- fibre pulp and paper mills. Commercial fishermen displaced by the closure are currently con- sidering launching tegal action in an attempt to win compensation for revenue lost in what is estimated to be a $900,000 annual commercial Howe Sound fishery and the overall devaluation of fresh prawn, shrimp and crab on local markets. leave drugs, fights, bikers. It was not always safe for my wife to live in the St. Alice,”’ he said. Other respondents were con- cerned the heritage potential of the area would be ignored. “I do not want to see the area become too commercialized. This area is one of the few heritage neighborhocds left in North Van- couver and should be restored,”’ said another resident. Business Classified Ads Dewg Eollins.. . Comics. ........506.42.42 Editorial Pege.......... Fashion .. Horeseopes ..... Seb Huster.... Lifestyles ..... Mailbox ..... Travel What's Going On WEATHER Sunday, cloudy with sunny periods. High §°€, law 2°. Monday and Tuesday, mostly sunny with highs near 48°C. Second Class Registration Namber 3585