December 14, 2016
As reported in the Ottawa Sun, the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) did not report ongoing chemical spills to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change when it was discovered that subsurface contamination around it National Fire Lab.
At the National Fire Lab run by the NRC, firefighting foams and retardants are tested for their ability to put out fires. Years of testing of various foams, suppressants, and retardants resulted in the release of chemicals into nearby receiving bodies of water. Chemicals were also found in the drinking water wells of neighbouring homes.
The discovery of off-site contamination was first discovered in 2013 during an environmental audit. During the environmental audit, it was discovered that the release of contaminants into the ground came from overflows of a 454,000-litre (12,000 U.S. gallons) underground tank that holds both waste from firefighting experiments and rainwater. The investigation uncovered that overflow from the tank went into the septic system and then into a local creek and the surrounding groundwater.
The Ontario Ministry of the Environment was notified of the off-site contamination in 2015. As reported in the Ottawa Sun, there are no plans to charge the NRC for the incident. In an e-mail to the Ottawa Sun, it stated “The MOECC has not laid any charges (in the NRC case) and we have not taken any other enforcement action”
Under Ontario’s Spill Reporting Regulation (O. Reg. 675/98), a spill is defined as a release of pollutants into the natural environment from a structure, vehicle or other container that is abnormal in quality or quantity. Spills must be reported immediately to the MOECC’s Spills Action Centre and the municipality. A spill is reportable if the any of the following conditions are met: