Emails between Metro Vancouver and the operators of the Cache Creek landfill obtained by CKNW paint a disturbing picture of dealing with toxic ash.
In the Emails Wastech tells Metro Vancouver they reported the incident of toxic ash, not Covanta, the operators of a Burnaby incinerator, that produced the hazardous waste.
Wastech says Covanta submitted missing test results from August a month late, on September 25th, with no mention of failed test results or as the email stated.
‘These failed results were not flagged by Covanta. The company made no mention of the irregularity in the test results and made no mention of concern with hazardous waste material sent to the Cache Creek landfill.’
Wastech says they then sounded the alarm over the hazardous waste.
In an email dated October 18th Wastech also notes missing test results from Covanta for July, which were later found to also be a fail, had still not been submitted, over two months after it was due.
Emails from Metro Vancouver say tonnes of toxic ash will be excavated from the landfill and moved to another facility, pending the approval of the Ministry of Environment.
Metro Vancouver also says in an email they will adopt a “reactive communications strategy” and will only respond if the news media gets wind of whats going on, or as the email says.
‘A reactive communications strategy is recomended. in other words, Metro Vancouver will respond if this issue becomes public and there are interview requests from the news media.’
Covanta told CKNW in an email on Wednesday “Upon further analysis of the sampling data, Covanta believes that the July and August monthly composite exceedences were an aberration and do not characterize the fly ash deposited in the Cache Creek landfill as a hazardous waste…..While sampling and testing continues to occur, the initial data leads Covanta to conclude that the fly ash shipped to the Cache Creek Landfill is not hazardous.
But the mayor of Cache Creek says the claim is absolutely untrue.
John Ranta says the ash at the landfill is absolutely hazardous waste.
“We have had independant engineering firm, Golder, who are the engineers of record for the landfill come and test the material in the mono-fill where the fly ash is deposited and apparently those tests also indicate that the material is hazardous material.”
That is confirmed in an email from Wastech dated October 19th which says “Preliminary test results have confirmed that four samples qualify as hazardous waste”
Ranta is unhappy with Covanta.
“Obviously the testing and the communications protocol related to the quality of the fly ash from the Covanta facility in Burnaby is inadequate.”….”For Covanta to be saying no big deal that the test results are flawed or something, does that mean that the test results that indicate that the material is suitable for disposal over the last ten plus years could also be flawed. I think that is a little bit irresponsible on their part.”
Ranta says the ash, laced with hazardous levels of cadmium, needs to be removed, on someone else’s tab.
“Those responsible for having introduced hazardous material to the Cache Creek landfill should also be responsible for removing that material.”
He adds Cache Creek is no longer accepting ash trucked from the Burnaby incinerator.
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