We have a summer intern coming May 1 from the McGill-UNEP MA program on Environment Assessment. Mr. Hi Sun Lee, MA is a metallurgical engineer who works for the Korea Environment Institute (KEI), an independent advisory body supported by the Korean Government. He is on sabbatical leave in order to pursue his studies here in Canada. His interest is in waste management planning. Among other tasks, he has completed 20 projects on waste management planning and recycling policy of hazardous wastes and studied numerous environmental impact statements including incinerators, landfills, recycling facilities ports, roads and railways. He will be with us from May to August under the supervision of Dr. Rosalie Bertell.

Our challenge is to help Mr. Lee see environmental assessment from another viewpoint how failed processes such as the one we have in Canada do not protect the the health of people or the environment. We expect that he will carry this knowledge back to Korea and hope that they will avoid some of the consequences occurring here from a lack of understanding of health risk from toxic chemicals and radiation.

Our program will include a field trip to Pembroke ON, a community that has been adversely affected by SRB Technologies Ltd., a company that manufactures “glow-in-the-dark” emergency signs using tritium produced at the Darlington nuclear power plant. There is well-documented evidence of tritium contamination of air, soil and water in the area around the plant and in the community. There is also anecdotal evidence of harmful health effects to the public since this plant opened.

Under the guidance of Dr. Ole Hendrickson, Ph.D., Hi Sun Lee will look at SRB as a case study of ‘establishment’ approaches to environmental assessment and possibly assist the local NGO, Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County to look at next steps in this complex and protracted affair. The intern will participate in and study health hazard (risk) assessment and environmental health studies primarily focused on the work done in these areas by Dr. Bertell and IICPH. As Korea has several nuclear power plants, we will also be arranging opportunities for him to learn about renewable, ecologically friendly alternatives to nuclear power.

While contributing to research for IICPH, the intern is also expected to produce a research paper based on what has been learned and make recommendations about possible improvement in the environmental assessment process in Canada and new approaches for environmentalists to pursue in achieving better results.

BACK PAGE CHALLENGE:$3,000

IICPH must pay expenses for the four months that Hi Sun Lee is with us; ordinarily, interns expect to be paid a salary. This is beyond our reach, but Mr. Lee has agreed to forgo a salary and just have his expenses covered. We will need around $4,000 for travel and daily living expenses. A generous donor has already given us $1,000.

We hope IICPH’s good friends will help us to reach our goal! To make a donation, see the back page of the newsletter.