'Unbearable' smell in St. Mary's, N.L. after former fish sauce plant wall collapses
CBC
The side of an abandoned fish sauce plant in St. Mary's, N.L. was ripped open after high winds overnight Friday into Saturday.
Mayor Steve Ryan said he learned the front of the building had collapsed early Saturday morning.
“The whole front is actually gone,” he said. “We are after having a lot of wind storms over the past month, and this one, the building never withstood the wind.”
Inside the building, 110 vats filled with rotting fish sauce are now exposed to the elements according to Ryan.
In 2016, Environment Canada testing found effluent flowing from the building into the ocean was ‘acutely lethal’ to fish. That effluent pipe has since been capped. But the fluid remains in the building.
With the side of the building exposed, Ryan said the smell is “unbearable.” and it’s unclear whether there are health concerns from the odour.
“If you're smelling this over a long period of time, what are the long term effects?"
As a result of that uncertainty, he said he is considering possible evacuations for nearby residents.
With the local school only about 300 metres away from the plant, he said the town is also considering the possibility of cancelling classes on Monday. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement calling for 100 km/h winds that day.
On top of the smell, he worries the sludge that has been trapped inside for a decade presents a risk to marine life if it leeches out.
“I think we could have a disaster here if this gets into the ocean.”
Ryan said he has been fighting to have the building properly cleaned up for a decade.
That clean up was very close to happening before this incident.
“We have two or three companies waiting [to] go to tender to do the cleanup,” he said.
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