Acrid smelling Pierrefonds landfill set to close

Dealing with foul odours in Pierrefonds People in Pierrefonds have been dealing with a bad smell for more than 10 years from a landfill. Something is finally being done about it.

Montreal — A Pierrefonds landfill smelling of rotten eggs and sulphur is due to close, but in the meantime, citizens fear the smell is bad for their health.

"It can nauseate you to the point where you might even gag, have difficulty breathing," said Claude Caron, a Pierrefonds resident who lives near the landfill.

He said he's had to deal with the smell for 15 years--and when it gets particularly bad, he leaves town.

The company in charge of the site in August began installing 35 vertical wells to contain the acrid gases. The work has made the smell worse, but its a step towards containing the site completely, according to Pierrefonds Mayor Jim Beis.

"It's definitely stronger now than it was at any other time simply because they've dug out a basin that will have a membrane put on top some point soon that will take away some of the odours," he said.

The site should have been closed years ago, he added.

The landfill is scheduled to be completely closed and odourless in 18 months--something Caron, the nearby resident, eagerly anticipates.

"If that is the case and they come through with it, that is going to be amazing," he said. "Because a lot of us are also afraid about our homes. If they're going to lose their evaluation."

The borough told residents in a notice that nearby homes tested negative for harmful Hydrogen Sulfide and Methane gases.

But still, residents like Caron worry about the effects of the noxious smell.

"The thought that goes through my mind all the time is what is this doing to me? Is this long term going to have health issues for me," he said.