Earlier this spring, the Cambridge TCE issue was in the news again. The CBC reported that the MOECC did not have a timeline for when the area will be completely remediated.
OHSInsider ran a similar story discussing the TCE contamination in Cambridge. In this article, they state, “The original estimate for the length of time for cleanup was 10 years. Currently, there’s no estimate for how much longer remediation will take.”
An Update on the Cambridge TCE Issue
The Cambridge Times recent article (June 2, 2017) provides some details on the current remediation efforts, as well as options going forward. This article also states that, “…84 homes within the Bishop Street community continue to be serviced by 19 soil vapour extraction systems, which are located in storage sheds in the backyards of some of the homes.”
As it relates to the concern about vapour intrusion, several years ago, two of my colleagues, Dr. Khaled Chekiri and Matthew Schroeder, wrote an article for Environmental Science and Engineering. In this article, they discussed the vapour issue and some of the challenges in Cambridge and elsewhere (See: Vapour intrusion from soil and groundwater: A challenge for property owners).
Dragun geologist, Jason Stilger, working on a site where vapour intrusion was a concern (Photo Credit: Dragun Corporation).
Unfortunately, for the residents of Cambridge, it appears the solutions are still several years away. According to the Cambridge Times article, “…it will take roughly two years for ministry staff to study the recommendations, fill in gaps in the data and set a direction for the remediation. Once a course has been set, the remediation plan could be implemented by 2022.”
Cambridge and other sites in Canada, including the Canadian Forces Base Valcartier in Quebec, will continue to have the unenviable task of addressing past TCE sins for years to come. Any hope for solutions, whether the contaminant is TCE or another contaminant, rests heavily on understanding the site conditions and building a robust conceptual site model.
Resources to Understand Environmental Remediation
If you would like to learn more about “How to Achieve Successful Environmental Remediation,” contact me, and I can forward you a series of what we called “Environmental Minutes.” We have nine different “Minutes” that will help you understand the elements of site characterization. You can reach me (cpare@dragun.com) at 519-979-7300, ext. 114.