Study of buried east-end PCBs inches forward

A study of buried PCBs threatening Hamilton Harbour is inching ahead despite an ongoing legal battle over responsibility for the pollution.

The Ministry of Environment ordered three property owners in 2016 to study and fix pollution that was discovered bleeding into the harbour from underneath Strathbarton Mall. The commercial building sits atop a historical industrial site.

Those property owners, including Coca-Cola, Union Gas and Rosart Properties, later appealed the order to the Environmental Review Tribunal. They argued blame for the pollution rests with the AVX Corp., the American successor company to the original polluter, an electronic components manufacturer.

Despite the formal appeal, the local property owners have voluntarily done modelling work on the spreading pollution, according to an online tribunal update.

That work has prompted the tribunal to extend a stay of the MOE order to the end of October.

Ministry spokesperson Jennifer Hall said the work includes gathering new information about “the location of the contaminants and how they may be migrating to adjacent properties.”

It’s still unclear when any work to control or clean up the cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls might occur. The ministry started tracking the source of the toxic chemicals years ago after finding worrisomely high levels in the harbour near the Strathearne slip.

The property owners are expected to update the provincial government on their findings later this month.