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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 1986 PAGE 11 FromPg. 1 Proposallacks substance. - Newman "If we impose this new facility on the community there is a risk. It may be only one in 10 million but it is a risk that was not there before and if there's no need for the facility that is a con- sideration when introducing the risk," said Ms. Munro.. The debate prompted Ms. Munro and hearing chair- man Michael Jeffery to draw up a written ruling over the lunch hour. The ruling notes that the question of need - under the Environmental Protection Act - has arisen at EAf hearings in the past. Poin- ting out that one of the criteria to be considered under the act is that of the public interest, the ruling states: "that questions relative to public interest go beyond the issue of nuisan- ce and health and safety, and therefore it is our', iew that the Board should or may look at the question of need as it relates to the public interest." In an interview Friday af- ter the hearing was adjour- ned until April 21, Mr. Sims said he was relieved by the ruling but added that its limits were rather vague and it remains to be seen just how far he will be able to pursue the question when the hearing resumes. "Before the written ruling I thought we were dead in the water but the decision appears to expand my elbow room to explore some of these areas," said Mr. Sims. The board's represen- tatives heard cross examinations and testimony from a stream of witnesses and concerned citizens over the course of the first three days of the hearing which adjourned Thursday afternoon. Among the private citizens appearing before the board was former Whitby Mayor Des Newman who called in- to question the thoroughness of the Decom proposal and whether its management team was qualified to handle it sen- sitively. "We're dealing with some serious technical requirements here and I haven't heard the ap- propriate responses to my questions. There's a lot of engineering that hasn't been done. You haven't come with your guns loaded. "How can you assure me that the facility will work from a technical point of view and make me satisfied that the project is in sen- sitive hands. I'm not getting that. I'm hearing a lot of promises," said Mr. Newman. Continuing in a similar vein, Roger Tickner, a registered Canadian safety professional and member of the Construction Safety Association of Ontario, complained that the Decom proposal did not contain sufficient information about safety precautions and staff training proceedures. "I would have thought more information would have been made available," said Mr. Tickner. Corridor Area Ratepayers Association vice-president Pat Dooley suggested to the board panel that the han- dling of pathological waste was too sensitive to be left in the hands of the private sector. "It's not a question of whether or not an accident will occur but when an ac- cident will occur," said Mr. Dooley. The hearing will resume April 21 and when it is finished Ms. Munro and Mr. Jeffery submit a report to the full Environmental Assessment Board which will make its recommen- dations to the Director of Environmental App'ovals who will then make a decision about whether or not the Decom proposal can proceed. Wednesday night... Whitby residents speak out By MIKE JOHNSTON Free Press Staff At least one form of pathalogical waste which could make it's way into the proposed Decom transfer station, could cause cancer if contacted by handlers, claimed one witness who took the stand at a special evening session of the Environmental . Assessment Board hearing Wednesday. Anti-neoplastic drugs, which are used in the treatment of cancer patients, -should be disposed of as soon as possible said a urologist with the Oshawa General Hospital. Dr. Shamoon Doctor produced a. document supporting his claim by the Ontario Hospital Association which states that all pathological wastes should be disposed of as close to the hospital as possible. The Oshawa General Hospital has their pathological waste in- cinerated in Port Perry, said the doctor. The Decom proposal would see pathological wastes transferred to Whitby for transpor- tation to an incinerator in Gatineua Quebec, a distance the doctor claimed was too far. Whitby residents held back no punches at the Wednesday night session and everyone who addressed the board expressed varying degrees of con- cern about the Decom proposal. "It is not when an ac- cident is going to hap- pen, it's how Decom will deal with it that I'm worried about," Charles Hill told board members Michael Jeffery and Mary Munro. Mr. Hill, who works as a microbiologist for the Cadbury Schweppes Powell Ltd. plant on Consumers Dr., said biological accidents are a possibility especially when one considers the many skunks, rats, mice and birds that inhabit the area around Cadbury and the proposed Decom site on Sunray St. Mr. Hill questioned the safety factors in- volved if an animal came in contact with pathological waste and spread it to Cadbury which is located less than a mile away from the proposed site. A graduate of McGill University in 1971 with a bachelor of science degree, majoring in bacteriology and microbiology, and a m.ember of the Canadian and American' society's of microbiology, Mr. Hill told Decom lawyer, Tom Lederer, he did not agree with the proposed Sec Pg. 31 A new face at Whitby museum- Things are stirring in the old Lynde House as the, Whitby Museum's new curator, Dr. Deseree Rowley goes about the business of preparing the historic home for the season opening sometime next month. Although she just assumed the job last week, Dr. Rowley brings to the post a solid background in museology and, more im- portantly, a world of en- thusiasm. "Museums can be very exciting places," enthuses Dr. Rowley. "I'm looking forward to tackling the job, it's going to be very challenging." After studying an- thropology at the Univer- sity of Toronto, Dr. Rowley went to England where she completed her Licentiate in Theology and a doctorate in parapsychology. She has a museology certificate from the Canadian Museums Association and has served as curator of a museum in Saskatchewan where she was a member of that province's Museum's Board and the chairman of its an- nual conference. She also sat on the 1984 Arts Com- mittee in Regina. As curator of the Whitby Museum, Dr. Rowley will be responsible for resear- ching and looking after its many artifacts and for put- ting together exhibitions and exhibits that connect with the public in a way that will bring Whitby's history to life. It is probably this aspect of her work which most in- trigues the curator and, despite the fact that she has only been on the job a few short days, she is already bubbling over with ideas for the museum's upcoming season. There is, for example, the old piano in the sitting room which was built in 1867 by Whitby's Rainer Piano Company. The beautifully crafted instrument is a natural focal point for the room and Dr. Rowley in- tends to do some research into the piano's original owners so she can put together a presention that will, hopefully, give the ar- tifact new significance for visitors to the museum. Dr. Rowley would also like to bring together local quilters and try to arrange a show of historic quilt designs such as the old log cabin design prominent in Ontario during the last cen- tury. And then there are her ideas about an exhibition of braided rugs and other schemes she hopes will draw the community into a greater awareness of it's past. "I'il have to wait till I've settled in but I've got all kinds of plans for exhibitions that will get the community involved with the museum. "People tend to separate the past, present and future The Whitby Museum's new curator, Dr. Deseree Rowley is busy getting everything ready for the museum's upcoming season. The doors at Lynde House will open to the and put them into separate boxes as though they were totally detached but they're not. The past is right here with us all the time," said Dr. Rowley. public later next month and Dr. Rowley has a lot of ideas that just might draw a good crowd. Free Press Staff Photo