Dry Cleaner Fined
About a year and a half ago, my colleague, Andrew Tymec, P.Eng., wrote a blog about enforcement actions at dry cleaners across Canada. In the blog, Andrew said, in part, “If you have dry-cleaning operations in Canada, you would do well to pay attention to this (enforcement in Vancouver) and other recent actions by Environment Canada.”
Andrew went on to say that Environment Canada has made it clear that they are focused on inspections at dry-cleaning plants that use tetrachloroethylene (aka PERC).
True to their promise, we found a recent news story in which Environment Canada has announced another enforcement action at a dry cleaner, this time in London, Ontario. The $36,000 fine at the London Dry Cleaner was related to improper storage and disposal of tetrachloroethylene. Based on the brief news release, there was no mention of a release to the environment, and the fine appears to be administrative in nature.
Do you advise Dry Cleaners?
If you work with dry cleaners (provide financial, legal, or other advice to them), remind them of this initiative by Environment Canada. Should they require technical assistance, I’m confident Andrew (atymec@dragun.com) can assist them.
TCE
The second news story relates to a trichloroethylene (TCE) release. TCE is by far one of the most ubiquitous environmental contaminants. TCE can be a very harmful chemical when released to the environment (especially when there is a release to groundwater).
When there has been a release of any chemicals to groundwater, collection of site data becomes a critical step in an effective action plan (Photo Credit: Dragun Corporation).
TCE, Government, and Politics
We always say there are at least three considerations when it comes to assessing issues relating to potential environmental contaminants: scientific, legal, and political. The recent TCE news story in Shannon, Quebec, is no different.
If you are not familiar with this particular story, the issue in Shannon relates to elevated TCE concentrations in the area of the Canadian Forces Base, located in Valcartier, This site has been in the news for some time, and according Dr. Claude Tremblay, who represents Shannon residents, “…depending on where they live in the community – some Shannon residents are at greatly elevated risk of developing cancer of the kidney and liver, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”
However, as stated in the CBC report,
“The regional health authority in the Quebec City region, the CIUSSS de la Capitale Nationale, countered Tremblay’s conclusions Monday.
It said the public health report regarding TCE contamination of private wells that Tremblay refers to, which was ordered three years ago, is not yet final (it is due in March or April).
‘Mr. Tremblay interpreted data in a document that isn’t valid yet,’ said CIUSSS spokesman René Bouchard. ‘There is a final report that is currently in the hands of the committee of experts at this very moment.'”
Previous interviews with a Shannon Citizens Committee spokesperson (Quebec AM, CBC Radio) suggested brain cancer is higher than normal in Shannon.
The fact that TCE was found at, or near, a former military operation is not unusual. In fact, our US office has been working on a large project in Salina, Kansas, where TCE was found in groundwater related to an old military base. Fortunately for the Salina community, this project now has local control and is moving much more rapidly towards a solution (remediation).
While we cannot help you with the legal or political aspects of assessing releases of potential contaminants such as PERC or TCE, we can certainly help with the scientific aspects. In fact, we are offering two free webinars that might be helpful to those who may be involved in assessing these releases.
If you have any questions or need assistance with an environmental issues, please feel free to contact me (cpare@dragun.com) at 519-979-7300, ext 114.