scholarly journals “The mill whistle was blowing and the Germans were coming”

Ethnologies ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 185-203
Author(s):  
Janice Tulk

In summer 2007, while conducting maintenance on the mill’s structure, the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill silenced the whistle that had been part of the local “soundscape” (Schafer 1977) for more than eighty years. When the whistle did not return immediately, public outcry was voiced in the local newspaper over the loss of part of the city’s heritage. Its return in December 2007 at half the previous daily frequency provided the impetus for a collection project. While the mill whistle is an important tool that marks the passage of time, regulates the movement of bodies, and signals trouble at the mill (such as a fire), its significance to the community extends beyond the utilitarian. It plays a role in memorialization (sounding on Remembrance Day) and celebration (marking, for example, the end of WWII), and has become a familiar icon for local song-writers and authors alike. This article provides an overview of “The Mill Whistle Project” designed to document the mill whistle in Corner Brook, describes the historic functions of the mill whistle, and identifies alternative uses of the whistle over time. It then interrogates the whistle’s relationship to World War II and Remembrance Day, demonstrating its extension as a community-wide notification system, its mobilization as a means of celebration, and its continuing role in memorialisation.

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 161-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Martel ◽  
Tibor Kovacs ◽  
Virginie Bérubé

Abstract Pulp and paper mill effluents have been reported to cause changes in reproductive indicators of fish in laboratory and field studies. These changes include reduced egg production and gonad size, and altered hormone levels and expression of secondary sex characteristics. We examined the performance of biotreatment plants for their potential in abating effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on fish reproduction under laboratory conditions. A bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) treated in an aerated lagoon and a thermomechanical pulp mill effluent (TMPE) treated by aerobic sludge in a sequential batch reactor were selected for study. Mature fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to effluents before and after biotreatment under continuous renewal conditions for 21 days. Egg production was monitored daily, while morphometric parameters (length, weight, gonad size), secondary sexual characteristics, and steroid hormone and vitellogenin levels were measured at the end of the effluent exposure. The effluent from both mills before biotreatment impaired the reproductive capacity of minnows (egg production) at concentrations of 10 and 20% vol/vol, but not at 2% vol/vol. Exposure to biotreated effluents from both mills at concentrations of 2, 10, 20, and 40% vol/vol caused no significant differences in overall reproductive capacity of minnows as compared with controls. These results indicate that biotreatment can significantly improve the quality of a BKME and an effluent from a TMP mill with respect to the reproductive capacity of fish as determined in laboratory tests.


1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-64
Author(s):  
C. G. Jardine

As part of the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) programs for the St. Lawrence and Spanish Rivers in Ontario, Canada, tainting evaluations were conducted using members of the Public Advisory Committees (PACs) and the RAP teams. Triangle test sensory evaluations were conducted on caged rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) exposed insitu upstream and downstream of the pulp and paper mill diffuser outfalls In the St. Lawrence River only, evaluations were conducted on indigenous yellow perch (Perca flavescens) caught upstream and downstream of the mill discharge . In both locations, the odour of the flesh from the caged trout exposed above the diffuser outfall was not judged significantly different from caged trout exposed downstream of the discharge. However, the indigenous perch caught downstream of the mill in the St. Lawrence River were judged by the panelists to have a significantly more objectionable odour than those caught upstream of the discharge. While the effluent tainting potential appears to have been eliminated in the Spanish River, further studies are required to determine the source and magnitude of tainting concerns in the St. Lawrence River. The sensory test and results reported here provide useful tools for evaluating the tainting potential of pulp mill discharges and for assessing perceived consumer quality of the fish exposed to these effluents.


1988 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Langi ◽  
M. Priha

The mutagenic properties of pulp and paper mill effluents were studied in three mills: bleached kraft mill with aerated lagoon treatment (Mill 1), bleached kraft mill with activated sludge treatment (Mill 2) and mechanical pulp/paper mill (Mill 3). Both treated and untreated effluents, process streams and molecular fractions were tested for mutagenicity (Ames test. Salmonella typhimurium TA100 and SCE sister chromatid exchange test, Chinese hamster ovary cells). To verify the potential environmental effects the mutagenic activity of concentrated recipient lake water (Mill 2) was also studied. The Ames mutagenicity of the bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME) originated from the first chlorination filtrate, SCE mutagenicity also occurred in the alkali extraction stage filtrate (Mill 1). No Ames mutagenicity was detected in the paper mill effluent, but it was SCE mutagenic. Activated sludge treatment of BKME removed both Ames and SCE mutagenicity, but the aerated lagoon treated BKME was still SCE mutagenic. No mutagenic activity was detected in the recipient water concentrates.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 109-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarno Karels ◽  
Markus Soimasuo ◽  
Aimo Oikari

Reproductive indices like gonad size, fecundity, egg size and sex steroid levels of estradiol-17β and testosterone, vitellogenin in the blood as well as bile conjugates and liver 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity were studied in populations of perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) and roach (Rutilus rutilus L.) and experimentally exposed juvenile whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L. s.l.) at the Southern Lake Saimaa (S.E. Finland). Our studies showed that the introduction of elemental chlorine free (ECF) bleaching and secondary treatment of effluents in a modern activated sludge plant at the mill in 1992 have substantially reduced the exposure of feral and caged fish to organochlorines. The liver EROD activity was noticeably lower in feral and caged fish near the mill indicating lesser impacts on the liver mixed function oxygenase (MFO) system. However, at the mill site, liver EROD activies in feral and caged fish still tend to be one to four times higher than at the reference sites. Significantly decreased plasma estradiol-17β and testosterone concentrations in perch and roach in the period of development of the gonads (autumn and winter) indicate that there were endocrine disrupting compounds present in the lake receiving ECF pulp and paper mill effluents. Cause-effect relationships, however, are difficult to establish.


1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 461-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Schneider ◽  
K. Mo ◽  
S. N. Liss

Carbon substrate utilization profiles, phenotypic fingerprints, of microbial communities from different pulp and paper effluent treatment systems are being determined using Biolog plates. The substrates from the Biolog GN plates that were deemed to be most significant in differentiating between communities are being employed as substrate panels on Biolog MT plates. Correlative microbiological tests including FAME analysis, heterotrophic plate counts, and epifluorescent microscopy are performed on the samples. By correlating the phenotypic fingerprints to pulp and paper mill processes and operation parameters in the treatment systems, the carbon substrate utilization profile has shown potential as a useful management tool.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document