Randle Reef will become a harbour pier
Infamous coal tar blob has been dredged, dumped into a steel box
You can still see the sludgy, toxic remnants of the largest coal tar blob in the Canadian Great Lakes peeking out of its eventual steel tomb in Hamilton Harbour — but not for much longer.
Politicians from three levels of government gathered at the industrial waterfront Wednesday to announce the looming final phase of a $139-million, eight-year project to dredge, trap and cap 150 years worth of fish-killing, cancer-causing toxic pollution known as Randle Reef.
A 15-acre steel box is now full of dredged coal tar sludge — enough to fill three hockey arenas. This fall, work will begin to cap the underwater landfill and turn it into a new pier for the Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority before 2024.
New federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault called the successfully trapped pollution an “exciting milestone” on a decadeslong journey to resurrect ailing Hamilton Harbour, which was labelled a Great Lakes “area of concern” based on pollution levels as far back as 1985.
Actual dredging of underwater sludge finished in June of 2021, but extra work to cap lesser pollution in a hard-to-reach channel near Stelco continued last fall, said Roger Santiago, who heads the sediment remediation team at Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The project fell behind schedule during recent, record-high Lake Ontario levels that temporarily stopped construction. But Santiago said a project tender should go out this year to cap the coal tar tomb and work should be done before 2024.
Here’s what you need to know about the Randle Reef project:
What is Randle Reef?
The so-called reef is 150 years of accumulated coal tar and other industrial pollution. It was named after Captain Harvey Randle, a tugboat pilot who famously ran aground on the toxic reef in the 1960s.
Where is it?
Randle Reef — and its new steel home — are located in the harbour near Pier 15 in the industrial port, where a coal gasification plant once operated in the 1800s. It is also just west of steelmaker Stelco’s property. You can see it for yourself, starting in April, from a viewing platform at the port parking lot at 210 Hillyard St.
Why did we need to clean it up?
The massive coal tar blob was the second-worst underwater pollution site in Canada after the Sydney tar ponds. Nothing could live near the blob, which as a “spill in slow motion” continually polluted the greater harbour over decades. The harbour was listed as a Great Lakes “area of concern” in the 1980s in large part due to Randle Reef.
How big was the problem?
The pollution sprawled over the equivalent of 74 CFL football fields and dredging sucked up 615,000 cubic metres of toxic sludge — enough to fill three hockey arenas. The containment box covers six hectares, or about six city blocks.
What did the project cost?
The $139-million cost was split between three levels of government, with funding or in-kind help from the port authority and Stelco, as well. Hamilton’s share was $14 million.
Why didn’t we get rid of the pollution altogether?
Politicians, scientists and concerned citizens argued about how to deal with the underwater pollution for decades. Proposals discussed and discarded included trucking away the pollution, reusing or incinerating it in industrial processes. Trapping the toxic goo in a steel box — apparently good for 200 years — was the eventual compromise.