Even though toxins at the old Reliance Power Equipment site in Pointe-Claire on Hymus Boulevard aren’t contaminating residential or watershed lands, those who live nearby, like Julie Patton, want the problem fixed — soon.
“It’s a bit scary because you’re saying, ‘Is it ever going to be done?'”
Provincial officials announced a new $175-million investment which includes $120 million aimed at decontaminating provincially-controlled areas that had been abandoned by their previous owners. It won’t do much to improve the Hymus site, which is now mired in a court battle.
Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel said Juste Investir, the current owner of the land, is stalling in court, and that he couldn’t handicap when a cleanup effort could be completed at this point. “We’re trying to get them to file their cleanup plan,” he said.
Scientists first detected polychlorinated biphenyls at the site four years ago.
PCBs were used for decades as lubricants for machinery until lawmakers banned them in the 1970s.
Though the province revealed recently the PCBs on site aren’t running into the St. Lawrence River or residential areas, residents are concerned because the toxins are still in the land on Hymus while the matter stays mired in court.