An take clinic will be held Oct. 3 and 4 in Sudbury to assess miners who were exposed to aluminum powder for potential work-related health conditions.
This will be the second clinic of its kind; the first is scheduled for May 11 and 12 in Timmins.
Janice Martell, who is leading the initiative, said a second clinic was scheduled for Sudbury following the overwhelming response to the Timmins event.
Interest from Elliot Lake and Sudbury was so high that a bus had been organized to take participants to Timmins. The bus will now travel from Elliot Lake to Sudbury in October.
A finely ground aluminum powder, called McIntyre Powder, was administered to underground workers at mines across the North from 1943 to 1979. It was a mandatory practice that all miners had to undergo before starting their shifts.
Martell was prompted to start the McIntyre Powder Project — a voluntary registry of miners who were administered the powder during their employment — after her father, a former miner, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011.
She believes there’s a connection between the McIntyre Powder and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS. She’s advocating for more research into the issue and compensation for affected miners.
The intake clinics are being organized by the United Steelworkers Union, the Occupational Health Clinics of Ontario Workers, the Office of the Worker Adviser, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which is sponsoring the bus to Sudbury.
Former mine workers do not have to be on Martell’s voluntary registry to attend the clinics.
For more information, visit www.mcintyrepowderproject.com.
