Fredericton senior resorts to rainwater after chemical spill
Last Updated: Friday, October 31, 2008 | 10:30 AM AT
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Florence Connolly is a senior with no car and little money, and she's looking after her husband, who is bedridden from a stroke.
Connolly has enough to be concerned about, but these days a chemical spill near her home has just added one more worry. Now she is surviving on rainwater that she has collected in a barrel next to her patio.
Connolly is just one of the handful of homeowners near the site of a chemical spill in Fredericton who say they feel they've been abandoned by the government in the aftermath of the accident. They received warning letters from the government on Monday to stay away from their drinking water after more than 2,700 litres of chromium trioxide spilled at a nearby business, Custom Machine & Hardchrome.
But so far no one's offered them any help to get by.
Since getting her warning letter on Monday, Connolly has been heating up the rainwater on a wood stove in her living room so her husband can have his sponge baths.
"I don't know — it's just terrible. There's no other word for it," Connolly said. "Why isn't someone around seeing how much water we have?"
Connolly is keeping a notebook with the names of all the government people she's called for help, but so far no one has returned a call.
Calls made by the CBC to the Department of Health's health protection branch on Thursday weren't returned.
The department issued a statement on Wednesday advising about a dozen homeowners and businesses in the Evergreen Park area not to consume their well water for any use that would allow it to touch their body.
The government statement indicates early water testing shows levels of chromium trioxide within acceptable levels.
"The initial test results are considered baseline levels, and more testing is necessary before the Department of Health can assess future risk and consider lifting the advisory to the affected homes and businesses, " said Dr. Denis Allard, medical officer of health, in a statement.
A few homes away from Connolly's, Yvonne McGarvey keeps a yellow dishtowel wrapped around the tap to remind herself not to drink it.
"It was just a shock. We didn't ask any questions," McGarvey said. "It was just 'OK, OK.' "
Her husband's been driving 45 kilometres a day to get water from a spring, McGarvey said. She wonders whether they'll ever be compensated for gas.
"It could have been handled much better," she said.
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