The Toxic Legacy of Sydney Steel

Abstract

The steel mill in Sydney Nova Scotia and the associated tar ponds were a site of extreme environmental violence against the indigenous Mi’kmaq peoples who hunted and fished on the land before the mill was constructed and against the working-class people of Sydney who lived and worked in the pollution the mill produced. Using an environmental violence framework this paper analyzes scientific and historical data to make the case that the extremely slow reaction to the harm being done to these communities by the pollution produced by the mill was due to a disregard for their lives and their devaluation as people. The land and people were viewed as simple resources to be exploited, they were ‘resourcified,’ much to their detriment and thus they suffered as they were heavily contaminated with the byproducts of steelmaking. This pollution led to contamination throughout the food chain and water supply, leading to high rates of birth defects and cancer, an act of violence of a slower variety than we are used to. This disregard for human life is sorely underrepresented in scientific literature, and as such this paper aims to bridge the gap in the communication of what has happened in Sydney and raise awareness for the deeper reasons behind this and other similar environmental tragedies.