2010

In 2010, Stelco hot idled its last blast furnace located in Hamilton, meaning that the furnace was no longer actively used, but still maintained for potential future use.  This action was monumental as it was the first step in the permanent closure of the blast furnace, which occurred in 2013.  Along with the last blast furnace being put out of commission, a 7-part investigative report was published in the Hamilton Spectator newspaper. It was called the Code Red series and it provoked critical conversations and increased community awareness regarding the health disparities present in Hamilton.   The publication won both local and national awards and received attention from the provincial and federal governments.  From this report, the Code Red Cancer Series Web Mapping Application was created using Geographic Information System (GIS) and was published in the Hamilton Spectator.  It was created to demonstrate the rates and distribution of different types of cancers in Hamilton and their correlation to location and socioeconomic status (Figure 1). In a presentation discussing the results of the original Code Red project, the investigative reporter who created Code Red, Steve Buist, shared his thoughts on why this project felt important for so many people:

 

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Figure 1: Location of companies contributing to Hamilton’s steel industry, as identified by The National Pollutant Release Inventory, plotted on the Code Red map demonstrating the cancer incidence per 1000 people aged 45 and older.  The black circles represent the location of the companies where steel production occurs. The red colour represents the highest incidence rate of cancer in Hamilton of 146 to 340 people per 1000 people (14.6% to 34%), in which all of the black circles can be found, visually depicting a correlation between the two factors (in addition to other contributing factors). A) A broader view of Hamilton including a legend detailing the incidence rate (per 1000 people) that correlates with each colour on the map. B) A magnified version of the same map in Figure 1A with labels of the names of the companies contributing to Hamilton’s steel industry.

 

The Code Red series inspired numerous projects which furthered investigations into the widespread health effects of the Hamilton steel industry.  In response to the health disparities outlined in Code Red, a new position in the Hamilton municipal government was created to prioritize public health, and a healthcare center was relocated to the area identified as most in need from the study.

 

Code Red highlighted how some neighbourhoods across Hamilton, particularly those in the industrial sector, experience higher levels of air pollution compared to others.   It explained how exposure to the emitted carcinogenic substances from Hamilton’s steel industry can lead to consequent health impacts – especially for those without access to the proper health resources to address their health concerns.    Undoubtedly, the environmental impact of the emissions contributes to the continuous cycle of negative health effects. Along with Code Red, multiple studies have demonstrated correlations between living in proximity to steel plants and health issues such as lung cancer, breast cancer, and cancer in children.      This is primarily attributed to the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals such as cadmium, arsenic, and zinc. Many of these studies echo the findings of the Code Red project and address the role socioeconomic status has on health outcomes — particularly in industrial cities like Hamilton.