Sludge Watch ==> Ontario -Huge decomposing sludge berm - is it linked to lead in water tests?

[Maureen Reilly]

To SludgeWatch:

 We read the Hamilton Spectator story below about lead contamination in Flamborough wells (north of Hamilton, Ontario) with great interest. It makes us wonder if there might be a connection with the huge paper sludge berm located about 4 miles north-east of these wells. Threat of environmental contamination from this berm resulted in a $10,000 fine in December 2004 for violating the fill regulations of the Hamilton Conservation Authority. Leachate from the berm was found to contain high levels of lead among other things, and was posing a threat to nearby Fletcher Creek. That berm is still there, and we wonder if the leachate could be permeating down into the water table. This leachate is acidic, and could also be picking up naturally occurring lead and carrying it into groundwater. These are just our thoughts and questions. The property is privately owned and the berm, estimated at 70,000 tons, was installed by Courtice Auto Wreckers of Oshawa (owned by Harvey "Skip" Ambrose) using paper sludge from Atlantic Paper's mills in Whitby and Scarborough. The original story detailing the court case and fine appeared in the Hamilton Spectator on December 20, 2004.

   We have a keen interest in this paper sludge problem because it is commonplace in our area down here in rural Haldimand and Niagara. Last year a pile of paper sludge from Abitibi's Thorold mill was stockpiled for 6 months across the road from us, then spread on the field as a "fertilizer / soil amendment". There is now a sludge berm under construction in Pelham (Niagara Region), which has resulted in widespread opposition from local citizens.


Dave & Mary Ann Pearson
Cayuga, Ontario

      _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
      Test well water for lead: city
      By Eric McGuinness
      The Hamilton Spectator(Jul 14, 2006) 
      Ron Ellis, whose family drinks from a well drilled into dolomite bedrock in Flamborough, says he isn't overly worried by news that his water -- and that of other rural residents -- could contain lead at a level above the Ontario Drinking Water Standard.

      "I don't think that will scare anybody. It doesn't sound too alarming," Ellis said yesterday after hearing that Hamilton is advising owners of all drilled wells above the escarpment from Flamborough to Stoney Creek to have their water tested for the presence of naturally occurring lead.

      Ellis, who lives in the Sheffield area, said he's used to having bacteria levels tested and will follow the advice to have tests for lead done this fall, after the leaves are off the trees. He said the recommendation to sample in late fall was reassuring because, "If it were that serious, they wouldn't suggest you wait."

      Tests of private wells by the Environment Ministry and the city in a 12.5-square-kilometre area near the hamlet of Kirkwall showed the problem is mainly lead attached to tiny rock particles that can be reduced by filtering the water. Ellis said his home already has a filter to remove sulphur and iron.

      City council -- sitting as the Board of Health -- voted unanimously Tuesday to notify an estimated 8,000 property owners of the potential risk, even though the city has no responsibility for private wells. Notices will go out in a couple of weeks.

      The concern doesn't extend to municipal well systems in Freelton, Carlisle and Greensville, which are regularly tested for lead.

      Erin Lewis of AGAT Laboratories, which has an office in Stoney Creek, said her company received its first call from a concerned resident yesterday. AGAT will supply sample bottles and sampling instructions, then analyse the water for total lead and dissolved lead at a cost of about $20 each.

      The city's environmental lab, which has capacity to do some private testing, quotes a cost of $25.84 plus GST for total lead and $25.08 for dissolved lead. For about double that amount, the lab will conduct a full scan for lead, zinc and other metals.

      Stuart Oakley, spokesperson for the Hamilton-Wentworth District Board of Education, said water at rural schools is tested annually for lead "and we've not had any issues in the past." Re-tests are scheduled over the summer. He couldn't say why the board tests only in the summer, when public health officials say seasonally changing lead levels are likely to be lowest.

      Wayne O'Connor, who's been employed by O'Connor Well Drilling in the Millgrove area for 35 years, said he'd never before heard of concern about lead in Hamilton-area water and didn't know of anyone routinely checking for its presence. City officials say they were unaware lead might exist at significant levels in the bedrock under Hamilton until the Environment Ministry tested wells around an illegal auto wrecking yard on Safari Road east of Kirkwall last year.

      Those tests were conducted at the request of Hamilton's department of public health services and MPP Ted McMeekin, both worried that the chop shop raided by police might have contaminated wells on adjacent land.

      Ministry officials found no contamination from the scrapyard, but were surprised to find lead in all seven wells tested on both sides of Safari Road. Four were over the maximum acceptable concentration, a level that is supposed to protect two-year-old children. A fifth was right at the limit.

      Those results prompted the city to test 38 wells in a wider circle. Eight contained lead over the acceptable level. The notice going to rural residents says, "Not all water wells are affected. The presence of lead in the bedrock is not everywhere. However, it cannot be said with certainty at this time which areas of rural Hamilton are more likely to be affected than other areas.

      "As a precaution, it is recommended that people who regularly drink water from a drilled water well located above the Niagara Escarpment test their well water for total lead and dissolved lead."

      emcguinness at thespec.com

      905-526-4650
     
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.web.net/archives/sludgewatch-l/attachments/20060714/e39c4ca3/attachment.htm