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mt yur 253 * â€" â€"â€"â€" â€"â€" s /,:‘),,,- 1 THE NOTEBOOK: A REPORTER‘S BACKGROLUNDER Stories of pai d probe into sludge _ TikowTbSran TWCY o) ay CAROLA VYHNAK omm on o s ooaaing URBANAFFAIRS REPORTER 6 "’W' ~ en ./ t ~ N * $ Tt was the first phone call I made in < Fes e t / i . > what was to become an cightâ€" _ e d s y 6y f i,~. month odyssey into the murky e ~ / d 0 4 / world of human waste disposal. 0e |â€" \ h & » There was a pause after I identiâ€" P j {s M ; iz F j PS __ 4 | fied myself. es F k > i 24 "Oh, thank you," Wendy Deavitt 2 P v, : i# A k ._‘e * said, relief and gratitude bringing (itamumiiay N o Al . o 4/ " . her to the verge of tears as she reâ€" s * ~ 2 B ;jifi}’"fi % ie on alized someone was going to listen 7 > m MSY _ ww to her story. e <~ h > BEYZ . g‘? P * s In that moment, Iknew Ihad to do I ‘2> * O ts “;\'g” s z. ++ 5 alot more than just listen. | /" + . e uk ~ 4. .. + She was convinced she was slowly f a>â€" t /. SWE e ©, 2 . m | being poisoned. Her kidneys and | _â€"., y k . . Z7 Ww E_ 0 . 0 #A_ on bowels weren‘t functioningproperâ€" e e 4 * * UR‘ i1 . io S , ly and she had elevated levels of o { Ati.~ â€" Cl /‘, £" "«iJnal p. MA heavy metals in her blood. Her husâ€" M <a. mc io A ( es apâ€" yook oK : band and three other couples in * " //_ M se l hua. . > M Trent Hills were suffering from {" J . on ie . â€"â€" > fs:>: v«\ td is ‘H‘,;; © 7 1â€" similar ailments. They said their ill .E oceynt d ; ‘;.‘;;'f;;_; xf:»n s o onR ¢ health was caused by sewage sludge y aeay ie nc V«"S y t u0 :,'z’ .. Fssegont speadonfeldsnenticihons. _ | PnE eesse e ~ > hlvlee â€" All T new then about sludge, or _ |/ W WV _ OE W auuer". ~ yoee . biosolids as it‘s also known, was a * uons "_‘:;‘.\,‘_.,};i sH( wo Aome. /s 9 N;&' . °.. s few tidbits offered by a friend who : NP " M it ; o l."“,\ L . 00079 ~â€" <. had alerted me to Deavitt‘s plight. . gv‘;‘;‘_,‘ o "g‘( ) *" BUkg‘+‘ U ly .0 :‘»;:’,M{ merat ‘,;‘ t i It‘s the lumpy stuff, he said, that‘s MMasa®e ; * e i hi. i . 1 left over after waste water is proâ€" 1 M waut y }\"z:’\i‘ij-fi v ty %» y cessed. It‘s common practice to use / on o â€" {: e f ib =’J h lc: ol it as fertilizer. Auucy . . y m m ngl o el * & A Google search yielded hundreds i tm o. \.\n ShG P des * l _ insd s : /.. SAdanne i oo C oodmenee P a) > S of similar cases, not just here but in ~â€" . W 3\\ B 3 MA 7 f other provinces and the United i/ “‘ in\ _3 dE ® States. And thus began my journey 9 NTE "le Es : .ws css across rural Ontario, through a sE0000 LAE en p sewage treatment plant and into g FRED THORNHILL/FOR THE TORONTO STAR the private lives of families and inâ€" Wendy Deavitt hugs her donkey Samson on her farm near Warkworth, Ont. dividuals who had been affected by sludge. ment. They had binders full of docâ€" â€". path.of a sludgeâ€"filled tanker truck. sludgeâ€"treated soil. She was keepâ€" Tt was the personal stuff that pro~ _ umentation, medical reports and _ But after more than two years of _ ing its body in the freezer until she pelled the project forward. Over pictures of sludge being sprayed inâ€" fighting, they had nothing to show could raise the funds to have tissue coffee and banana bread in Deaâ€" . to theair. for their efforts except mounting _ samples tested at the University of vitt‘s living room, her group â€" _ Dianne Cooke had meticulous _ frustration and declining health. Guelph. Warkworth Citizens Against Sewâ€" _ notes with times, dates and details Deavitt‘s hobby farm was "worthâ€". _ The government continues to say age Sludge â€" gathered one cold day â€" of phone conversations with offiâ€" . less," her horses were sick and her _ there is no scientific evidence that to recount their attempts to get anâ€" _ cials. Linda Donaldson described a _ cat had died from a urinary tract inâ€" _ biosolids make people sick. Deavitt swers and action from the governâ€" . protest they staged, blocking the fection after wandering onto _ says she has all the proofshe needs. Fâ€"â€"â€" is se es end Sad d al suâ€"ex -‘;,v' seE 5 _~y . 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