POINTE-CLAIRE, QC, May 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The mayor of the City of Pointe-Claire, Morris Trudeau, has announced that Québec's Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (Ministère du Développement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, or MDDELCC) began work this week to characterize the soil of the Reliance site on which PCBs were once illegally stockpiled.
"This is a very important step for Pointe-Claire citizens, because it's the final action taken in order to decontaminate this site once and for all and remove any PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) that might have seeped into the ground," declared Morris Trudeau, mayor of the City of Pointe-Claire.
Characterization work will be carried out for a period of three to four weeks and will involve taking samples according to a systematic pattern. Core samples will be taken up to the boundary of the industrial property, and beyond that limit if necessary, to determine if the soil is contaminated, and if so, how severe the problem is and how far it extends.
Once this work has been carried out, experts will need about two months to determine what follow-up should be done. At that point, if any contaminated soil has been found on the site or on adjacent properties, the MDDELCC will ensure that it is removed.
Weather conditions this spring caused TechnoRem Inc. to delay the beginning of the soil characterization work, but constant surveillance of the site ensured that no contamination was caused by the runoff of snowmelt water.
"Snowmelt and surface water in the stockpiling area were managed to make sure they did not flow out of the property. They were pumped into cisterns, analyzed and safely disposed of," explained Mr. Trudeau.
"Our goal is to guarantee the health and safety of Pointe-Claire citizens, and we will continue to be proactive and keep a very close eye on this issue," concluded the mayor.
SOURCE: Ville de Pointe-Claire
Source: City of Pointe-Claire; Information: Jean Maurice Duddin, Astérisme relations publiques et communication, 514-771-5777, [email protected]
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