Ventra / Pebra Plastics Cluster Project

 Ventra/Pebra Plastics Cluster Project

ANNOUNCEMENT

Pebra/Ventra Plastics In-Person Info Session

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Times: 9:00am AND 3:45pm

Agenda:

  1. OHCOW Team and Partners Introductions
  2. Medical and Exposure Updates
  3. Reproductive Questionnaire
  4. WSIB Claim Process
  5. Q&A

Location:

Peterborough Lions Banquet Hall and Meeting Centre
347 Burnham St. Peterborough, ON K9H 1T5
See on Map

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Jessica Montgomery at 1-613-218-7345 or the Peterborough office

Attention Ventra Plastics Workers, Members of Unifor Local 1987

Are you suffering from an illness or injury that you suspect may be related to work?

Our Free Services:

  • Anonymous inquiry services to answer personal work-related health & safety questions.
  • Research services to investigate and report on emerging illnesses/injuries.
  • Medical diagnostic services for workers who may have work-related health problems.
  • Consultation services for workplace health and safety committees or worker groups.
  • Outreach and education to increase awareness of health and safety issues and to promote prevention strategies.
CONTACT US

 

Jessica Montgomery at 1-613-218-7345

OR: 1-877-817-0336

EMAIL: peterborough@ohcow.on.ca 

*Calls and inquiries are completely confidential

For workers with reproductive health concerns:

Concerns have been raised about reproductive health issues among Ventra workers.
Are you experiencing any of the following?

  • Endometriosis
  • Uterine fibroids
  • Excessively painful periods
  • Excessive menstrual bleeding

If so, please reach out to the Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to participate in our reproductive health survey.

We are investigating potential linkages to workplace duties or hazards.

Pebra Plant

In 1981, a German plastic auto parts firm came to Canada and first located in a 22,000 square foot facility in Kitchener, Ontario. With production expanding, the company set up a second facility in Peterborough in 1986, purchasing a 200,000 sq. ft. metal clad structure, which was expanded in the late 1990s to accommodate its larger thermoplastic injection molding machines and production operations.

In 2004, Sonia Lal, industrial hygienist OHCOW, undertook a detailed retrospective exposure assessment of the production processes at Pebra Inc., (now the Ventra plant), between 1986 and 1996. This involved a systematic effort with the participation of UNIFOR Local 1987 Workers’ Advisory Exposure Committee to collect, document and analyze empirical information about how production was carried out in this complex plastics production operation. This work was undertaken to document the extent and nature of chemical and physical exposures that are possibly linked with the various cancers and other diseases that many employees and their families suffered over the years. Given the complexity of chemical exposures in plastics production processes,  the researchers relied upon qualitative research methods to profile exposures, retrospectively.

OHCOW RESOURCE

RESEARCH PAPER

A Retrospective Exposure Profile of the Pebra Inc. Plastics Plant in Peterborough, Ontario

June 2020

Prepared by Dale DeMatteo, BA, MHSc and Robert DeMatteo, BA, MA, DOHS, Unifor Local 1987 and Local President, Mark Clapper, Past President, Rose Wickman... and more

Information Sessions

Given the rate of research, OHCOW strives to keep stakeholders, especially workers and their families, updated as to the progress and the implications for recognition and compensation. Since 2020, public information sessions have been held virtually to inform workers and their families about the state of research and to provide information on compensation claims with the WSIB.  The last information sessions were held on March 8 and 9, 2023.

OHCOW RESOURCE

INFORMATION SESSION

Information Session for Pebra/Ventra Workers

March 8, 2023

Hosted by: Sarah Rhodes, with presenters David Wilken, Jessica Montgomery, Andrew Zarnke, David Boyce and Paul Sampara.