The Ontario government will commit $1 million in funding to assist Ontario miners who believe years of exposure to toxic aluminum dust left them with debilitating neurological diseases, the Star has learned

The Ministry of Labour is expected to announce Wednesday that it will finance the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to assess miners exposed to the substance known as McIntyre Powder establish whether their health conditions are linked to its use, and make compensation claims for work-related illnesses where possible.

But miners who already made claims under previous guidelines will not be eligible to have their cases reopened.

As previously reported by the Star, thousands of miners across northern Ontario’s gold and uranium mines were routinely forced to inhale the powder, which was sold as a miracle antidote to lung disease. Historical documents suggest it was created by industry-sponsored Canadian scientists bent on slashing compensation costs caused by illnesses like silicosis.

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Some workers have since claimed they were treated as “guinea pigs” in a human experiment aimed at cutting company costs.

“When you tell people in today’s context and the workplace protections that we now have, it seems pretty unbelievable that this happened,” said Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn in an interview with the Star.

“What workers didn’t have before is somebody to help them through the system and that’s where the approval of the funding (comes in).”

The issue has been championed by Janice Martell, whose own father, a former miner exposed to the dust, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He died from the disease in May.

Martell said she is pleased about the $1 million in new funding, although it is half what was originally requested by OHCOW.

“It’s been frustrating the length of time it took to get here, and we’ve lost so many miners in between, but I’m grateful it’s finally here,” she told the Star.

Until recently, potential victims were unable to make successful claims at the province’s worker compensation board because of a policy formed in 1993 that said insufficient evidence existed linking aluminum exposure to neurological disease.

Martell said she is “livid” that the board has told her it will not reconsider compensation claims lodged before the policy was rescinded — including her own father’s claim.

Martell said she has spent more than $10,000 of her own money to research and raise awareness about McIntyre Powder.

“Why should it fall on us? I changed my whole life around. I quit my job to fight for this,” she said.

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Workplace Safety and Insurance Board spokesperson Christine Arnott said its focus is on “finding answers for people.”

“That’s why we have commissioned scientific research to look specifically at McIntyre Powder and any connection to neurological disease,” she said. “Unfortunately, there is no conclusive scientific evidence to date.”

Of the 397 former miners who have contacted Martell, around one-third suffered from a neurological disorder — and she says 14 have developed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative and incurable condition, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, that slowly kills the ability to swallow, speak and breathe.

In Ontario, the prevalence of motor neuron disease, which includes ALS, is estimated at less than one in a thousand people.

Research conducted in the United Kingdom found “strong evidence” linking aluminum to Alzheimer’s disease when absorbed into the blood stream.

In August, the WSIB announced it would rescind its policy and commission an independent study to assess the development of neurological conditions resulting from exposure to McIntyre Powder, which was used extensively between 1943 and 1980.

Now that the policy has been reversed, the new funding will help workers build the necessary evidence to back up potential claims.

“We’re obviously very pleased with this opportunity to intensify our efforts on behalf of the exposed miners,” said Dave Wilken, OHCOW’s chief operating officer. “We will do whatever we can to ensure that they get the answers they deserve.”

Flynn said OHCOW would provide vital support for workers who were exposed to potentially harmful substances for years, often without their knowledge.

“It’s not just statistics, it’s not just chemistry,” said Flynn. “It’s real people who have real lives.”

Martell says that’s why she hopes to see more robust measures to prevent and address occupational illness in Ontario.

“McIntyre Powder was swept under the carpet for years and years,” she said.

“I’m grateful my father allowed himself to be shown in a vulnerable light so that other people could benefit from the brutal realities of occupational disease.”