North Tar Pond

Canada / Nova Scotia / Sydney /
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Site of what is widely reported to be the "worst man-made disaster in North America."
The Sydney Tar Ponds are a hazardous waste site on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Sydney Harbour in the former city of Sydney (now amalgamated into the Cape Breton Regional Municipality), the Tar Ponds form a tidal estuary at the mouth of Muggah Creek, a freshwater stream that empties into the harbour. Over the last century, runoff from coke ovens associated with Sydney Steel Corporation's (SYSCO) now-decommissioned steel mill filled the estuary with a variety of coal-based contaminants and sludge. Efforts to clean up the waterway have been dogged by false starts, delays, and political controversy. After extensive public consultation and technical study, a $400 million CAD cleanup plan, jointly funded by the Government of Canada and Nova Scotia, is undergoing a final environmental assessment.
www.tarpondscleanup.ca/

The North Pond and the South Pond have a combined area of 31 hectares (77 acres), and contain 700,000 metric tonnes of contaminated sediments. The nearby coke ovens site spans 68 hectares (168 acres) on a sloping field overlooking the estuary. It contains an estimated 560,000 tonnes of contaminated soil.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Tar_Ponds
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Coordinates:   46°8'56"N   60°11'47"W

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  • Site of what is widely reported to be the "worst man-made disaster in North America." The Sydney Tar Ponds are a hazardous waste site on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Sydney Harbour in the former city of Sydney (now amalgamated into the Cape Breton Regional Municipality), the Tar Ponds form a tidal estuary at the mouth of Muggah Creek, a freshwater stream that empties into the harbour. Over the last century, runoff from coke ovens associated with Sydney Steel Corporation's (SYSCO) now-decommissioned steel mill filled the estuary with a variety of coal-based contaminants and sludge. Efforts to clean up the waterway have been dogged by false starts, delays, and political controversy. After extensive public consultation and technical study, a $400 million CAD cleanup plan, jointly funded by the Government of Canada and Nova Scotia, is undergoing a final environmental assessment. www.tarpondscleanup.ca/
This article was last modified 7 years ago