Up in smoke

Northern News Services

Resolution Island (Jun 25/01) - The federal government has approved the incineration of toxic soil on Resolution Island.

Robert Nault, minister of Indian affairs and Northern development, announced the decision June 13, according to Scott Mitchell, the head of department's contaminated sites office in Yellowknife.

Fact file: Resolution Island history: An abandoned U.S. military site off the southeast tip of Baffin Island Amercian military developed the site in 1953 and abandoned it in 1972 Government of the NWT purchased Resolution Island from the U.S. in 1976 for $3,000, making DIAND the agency responsible for cleaning up the site Widely considered to be the most contaminated site in the North, with PCB levels exceeding 8,000 parts per million, 160 times higher than Canadian regulations permit. Cobalt, lead and asbestos also contaminate the island Some 50,000 empty barrels need to be shredded Total cleanup expected to cost about $40 million

Nault's blessing means some 5,000 cubic metres of dirt contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on Resolution Island can be shipped south to Bennett Environmental Inc.'s treatment facility in St. Ambroise, Que., for incineration.

While the shipping distance is considerable -- Resolution Island is about 100 kilometres off the southeastern tip of Baffin Island -- emergency response plans are in place should a spill occur at sea or on the island itself.

Other options of remediation and disposal were considered, but both DIAND and site contractor Qikiqtaaluk Corporation concluded southern incineration was the safest method.

The incineration process will take three years and could cost up to $12 million.

Harry Flaherty, QC's director of environmental services, said he hopes the shipping would begin this season, but the late timing of Nault's announcement and a reduction in funding -- the federal government gave QC only $4.1 million for this year's work -- means the removal is on hold.

"I was really expecting this year to send the soil out," said Flaherty.

This is the second year in a row that QC received significantly less funding than requested from Ottawa. While a multi-year agreement would solve the annual struggle for dollars and would likely speed up the project's timeline, Mitchell said DIAND's year-to-year budget makes that impossible.

"There's no money designated for waste clean-up. (Nault) has to find the money within the department each year ... there's no (financial) resource base," said Mitchell.

Flaherty said he was forced to alter his workplan, but Bennett Environmental's Douglas Kroeker said the delay meant details, such as the signing of a contract to do the work, would be finalized.

"We weren't banking on anything this year," said Kroeker. "It's just a little delay. I'm not really worried about it," he said.

Soil already cleaned up will continue to be housed in special containers and additional containers will make their way to the island this summer.

Flaherty said the 52 employees he's hired, 85 per cent of whom are Inuit, will concentrate their efforts on cleaning up the site's contaminated landfills, dealing with areas where PCBs have leached into the ocean and excavating a road.

The advance crew is scheduled to fly to Resolution Island on July 3 to open camp. The remaining employees will fly in five days later.

PCBs have been linked to cancer and deformities in laboratory animal tests. They tend to accumulate in predators such as toothed whales and seals.