Cleanup planned for contaminated site on McNabs Island
07/04/2008
by -- CBC.ca
www.cbc.ca
Parks Canada plans to clean up a gooey mess on McNabs Island this year, nearly five years after an old oil pipeline was exposed when Hurricane Juan tore through.
The 240-metre pipeline has been oozing Bunker C oil ever since Juan ripped through Halifax harbour in September 2003, blowing away part of the gravel beach and exposing the structure.
Cathy McCarthy, president of the Friends of McNabs Island Society, calls the island a "true gem" and said it's about time the mess is cleaned up.
The pipeline was part of a navy fuelling depot that supplied vessels and forts in use on the island during the Second World War.
An underground oil tank farm was dismantled in the 1960s, and some site cleanup was carried out in the late 1990s when Parks Canada handed over McNabs Island to the province of Nova Scotia.
But in 2003, after Juan blew through, a thick, tarry goo started leaking onto a nearby beach.
"This oil pipeline, no one knew of its existence," said McCarthy, describing how it would have been covered with gravel when the island was transferred to the province in 1998.
A thick wooden stopper was put into the end of the pipeline to plug the hole. Since then, the federal and provincial governments have been discussing a permanent cleanup.
Several contaminants of concern
Last month, Parks Canada filed notice with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry that it intends to clean up a six-hectare site that includes the pipeline, decommissioned tank farm and an abandoned concrete building.
According to the registry, there are several contaminants of concern, including petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and metals. These contaminants have been found in the soil and groundwater in "levels that are over applicable guidelines."
The Nova Scotia Department of Environment requested the cleanup because the situation violates provincial regulations.
Though provincial officials say hydrocarbon levels around the pipeline exceed human and animal safety guidelines, they are downplaying the risk, saying there are no wells and no people living in the area.
Officials with Parks Canada have refused repeated requests for interviews with CBC News, saying they won't answer questions about the cleanup until the agency secures funding from the Treasury Board.
According to the filing with the registry, Parks Canada has estimates for the cleanup, but the department won't say what it will cost.
The work is planned for this year and 2009.
(Source: CBC.ca, July 4, 2008)
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