Pointe Claire officials ease fears of residents worried about PCBs

Officials reassure PCB fears Pointe Claire residents were told they had nothing to worry about.

People who live near Hymus Blvd. in Pointe Claire have been quite worried since learning last week that PCBs were being illegally stored on an industrial property.

But last night, at a town hall meeting, officials said the public has nothing to worry about.

Reliance Power Corporation has been keeping PCBs from electrical transformers and other equipment on its grounds for at least the past five years. The Environment Ministry learned of the storage facility earlier this year when about 1,000 litres of PCB-laced oil spilled onto the ground.

Since then the ministry has been pursuing Reliance to clean up its property and properly dispose of the toxic material, finally coming to an acceptable agreement this week.

At Thursday's meeting representatives from the Public Safety board, as well as the Ministry of the Environment and other officials said there was no evidence that residents living near the site were in any danger.

They also said that levels of PCBs found at Reliance were low.

However, in light of what happened, the city will be inspecting other companies to ensure they are not storing toxic materials.