The environmental activist probably remembered for leading the fight to clean the infamous Sydney tar ponds in Nueva Scotia has died.
Bruno Marcocchio, who believed that the remains of the steel industry in Cape Breton were a danger to the health and safety of people, died of cancer on Wednesday, according to the family.
He was 75 years old.
Elizabeth May, the leader of the Federal Green Party, was executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada and worked with Marcocchio, who was director of Atlantic Conservation of the Environmental Organization.
May said his work began before the battle of tar ponds, the fight against herbicide and Orange agent in the 1980s.
But for a large part of the next two decades, Marcocchio was in charge and the center with signs and speaking in public meetings, pressing for the federal remediation of the tar ponds, a toxic portion and loaded with Muggah Creek sludge that contained waste from the coke process that hardened coal for steel intake.
“Bruno’s work was really significant and important to continue fighting for real cleaning,” May said.
After years of disputes, the Federal Government approved a process of solidification and stabilization of $ 400 million that included mixing concrete in the mud, encapsulating toxins.
Then, the area was covered with vegetable soil and grass and is now known as Open Hearth Park.
May said the process was not a real cleaning, but a cover -up.
She said Marcocchio was uncompromising and selfless in her impulse to raise awareness about the health of people’s health by having toxic waste in the middle of a community.
“He was not the only one who knew it, but it was very effective to give him a voice,” he said.
Marcocchio was arrested in 2001 during a public meeting in Sydney, where the federal government was delivering the results of the soil tests in the Whitney Pier neighborhood next to the tar ponds.
“I think his legacy is one that shows that a person can make a big difference,” May said.
“A voice makes a difference, and even if that voice is occasionally taken out of meetings … more than ever, we need more Bruno Marcrocchios in this world.”
May said she and Marcrocchio were not only colleagues, but close friends. He was also close to Marcrocchio’s wife, Roberta Bruce, who died in 1992 for cancer.
Neal Marcrocchio said that his mother’s death played a role in his father’s motivation.
“With Sydney’s tar ponds, losing his wife at an early age was an important factor in worrying about health and safety in Cape Breton with the cleaning and health history of people,” he said.
His father also opposed the exploration of oil and gas in the west of Cabo Breton in 2003 and fought for environmental protections for the liquefied natural gas plant proposed in the narrow narrow in 2006 and the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in 2012.
Marcocchio said he was proud that his father had the courage of his convictions, but said he was also a great hockey father.
Last battle: cancer
“He gave me a lot of good advice,” Marcocchio said. “It was very helpful and, as I had to be responsible in sports and work hard and follow the instructions.”
Marcocchio said his father fought against cancer during the last seven years, showing the same force he showed in his career fighting the environment.
Bruno Marcocchio’s daughter, Sara Bruce-Marcoccchio, said that although her father was a single father, she recalls with love the family’s camp trips between Canada.
“Dad was an incredible father,” he said. “A rhythm never jumped and raised us on his own.”
An obituary is expected with details of a celebration of life will be published next week.
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