Hazardous Materials

We currently live surrounded by tens of thousands of different, human-created, toxic and hazardous materials which were not part of the ecosystem in which we evolved. SES works through various activities to help reduce exposure of living things to these harmful substances.

• Pesticides — The use of herbicides and other pesticides on lawns is associated with some human and ecological health risks, and can accidentally injure trees, bushes, and other plants in the yard. These dangers are unnecessary.

• The Chemical Industry — SES is represented by Angie Bugg on the Community Advisory Panel for the two major chemical companies in Saskatoon, ERCO Worldwide (previously known as Sterling Chemicals) and Akzo-Nobel. The Panel provides an opportunity for discussing concerns about the plant operations with their managers and to participate in their Responsible Care Program.

• Nuclear Fuel Wastes — As the source of all the uranium used in other parts of Canada for production of electricity from nuclear power stations, Saskatchewan might well feel some moral responsibility for the highly hazardous wastes which these stations produce. Canada has as yet no plan for long-term management of used nuclear fuel, which remains dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
  During the 1990s SES participated in an 8-year-long environmental assessment process examining a concept for burial of these wastes in the Canadian Shield. As this process did not result in approval of the concept, a Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) was appointed in 2002 to review available options and to bring a recommendation to Parliament within 3 years. SES Program Coordinator Ann Coxworth has been part of an NWMO team looking at the very long-term implications of various options

• Poisoning the Prairies — Our lifestyle takes for granted many industrial products. Unfortunately, their production generates significant amounts of waste products, many of which, due either to their chemical nature or their quantity, are considered hazardous. Even if wonderful recycling programs were established and followed, there would still be wastes—harmful to human health and the environment—to deal with.