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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 1979, PAGE 3 "Fantsy"s Ys region sengmeer of inormant's eaim of potentia dager By MICHAEL KNELL Free Press Staff "That man is dealing witli fantasies," is how the Region of Durham's engineer in'charge of the Pringie* Creek sewage treatment plant reacted to last week's Free Press story where a confidential source claimed that a Mississauga tragedy could happen in Whitby with the plant rîght' at tlie centre. "There is no record of a sewage plant explosion," says Art, Leitch, a civil« engineer working for the region. "Have you ever heard of a sewage plant exploding?" Attendant arrested f or theft Durham Regional Police have charged a gas bar at- tendant with mischief after an investigation into a rob- bery complaint., Police said that the com- plaint was received on Oc- tober 19 at which time it was reported by an attendant that a man, armed with a revolver, held up the DX gas station at 1517 Dundas Street East. Police were also told that the man got away with $100. After investigating the in- cident, police have charged Stephen Orton, 20, of M4 Dundas Street East with public mischief and thef t under $200. He is to appear in provin- cial court on December 17. Plans released soon An announcement i s ex- pected early in 1986f by On- tario ministry of biealth of- ficiaIs -about plans to ease Whitby Psychiatrie Hospital's patient load. A planning an(. .tS advisory committee report from the Durhiam Region Heaitli Unit on the need for more psychiatric beds is being waited for by ministry officiais, a spokesman said. Heaith Minister Dennis Timbrel - announced last week the staffing of five ad- ditional psychiatric beds at the Scarborougli General Hospital. This brîngs the amount of psychiatric beds in Toron- to's east end to 25. Leitch said that the plant is totaliy safe and is inspec- ted on a regular basis by Ministry of Labor officiai. He also said that there is flot a great prospect- pf Mississauga happening here because in that accident a rail tank car of chlorine gas was between tanks of butane gas and when the fire oc- cured, it was impossible to get to the ruptured clilorine tank. That was the hazard, Leit- ch says. "'He's crazy," Leitch said of the Free Press's infor- mant even after lie was told that lie was an employee of his department. The Free Press did not give Leitch or any other Durham' of Region officiai -the name of the informant. "Mississauga was an isolated incident,"' he said. "He obviously doesn't know what he is talking about. " Leitch also said that the seven men who operate the plant are fully trained and capable of preventing any accident. The training, according to Leitch, is done in-house with men who have a grade 12 education with science and math courses. They must also sit the Ministry of Labor examinations. Leitch said that the treat- ment of sewage is a biological process and that only small amounts of chemicals, such as chiorine are used. The operators " are required to do mechanicai maintenance," Leitch said stressing that they are trained to do so. "An operator at this plant receives five years on the job training," he said. "'they must take five separate Ministry of the Environment training courses." In reply to our informant's dlaim that t.he operators at the plant are flot licensed gas fitters Leitch said that they do take a gas fitters maintenance course, aithougi, lie did not say whether or not they were licensed. "They get- a certificate" for the course lie said, however. The proeess Explained The treatment of sewage in Durham -Region is a biological process Leitcli said. He described it as thé same process that nature uses only speeded up. Raw sewage, lie said, is 99 per cent water and one per cent sewage. 1When the sewage. enters the plant, it enters what is called a grit tank which removes heavy particles sucli as sand. It then passes through the screens which takes< out solid objects sucli as rags and the sewage is deposited' into the primary ýsettling tank. Here the ligliter sewage settles to thie bottom'where'it is removed from the process. Sewage tlen enters the aeration tanks where air is passed througli the sewage to clear out remaining sewage, a process used by nature to get rid of rotting or decaying matter. It is-in' this stage where micro-organisms are in- troduced into' the process and these eat the dissolved sewage particles. These mircro-organismns also need air to survive. Then cornes the final set- tling tank process where the micro-organisms are removed. The effluent (treated sewage) is then pumped into the- creek and is usuaily cleaner than the creek itself in some parts Leitch says. Leitcli also maintains that tliis sewage treatment process does not poilute the creek. "And there has been a plant at this site for over 20 years," lie said. The sewage that has been treated is called sludge and is put in digester tanks which through a biological and cliemical process remve -the gases, primarily methane. This methane, Leitch says, is used as fuel for the furnace, which aside for helping. the power the digesters, also heats the buildings in the plant. Once the sludge lias been treated it is hauled away and used as fertilizer for farms. The sludge is organic material Leitch said and makes good fertilizer. About seven truck loads of sludge are taken away every day and the region does not chiarge farmers for it. As for Mississauga hap- pening in Whitby, Leitch dismisses it entirely. DENTURE THERAPY CLINIC HARWOOD PLACE MALL 683*6074 ~KLAUMAR KENNELS HAVE MOVED ta 8th LUne, Brooklln East side of No. 12Just North of Thlckson Rd. (formerly Manderley, Kennels). 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