202 replies to this topic

[Bingo]

There used to be a drycleaner at Hillside Mall right about where the new expansion to the food court is.

[amor de cosmos]

Five properties in Cook Street Village contaminated with dry-cleaning chemical

Amy Smart / Times Colonist
November 26, 2013 10:46 PM



Scientists believe that PERC, also known as perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, spread from an underground storage unit at 325 Cook St. Fairfield Cleaners operated at the site from the mid-1970s to 2007.
 
The oil-stain removing chemical has been linked to esophageal and cervical cancer in dry-cleaning staff, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, according to CAREX Canada, a project that tracks cancer-causing substances in workplaces and communities.
 
PERC was found in the groundwater at five properties, exceeding provincially acceptable levels of 1,500 micrograms per litre, according to early study results presented by Franz Environmental during the public meeting Monday. It was also found in the soil at rates higher than 50 micrograms per gram. And at one commercial property, soil vapour exceeded 0.5 micrograms per cubic metre.
 
The vapour readings are the most concerning, Abbott said, because the chemical identified was not PERC, but a more toxic one called trichloroethylene, which is created when PERC breaks down.

 
http://www.timescolo...emical-1.711474

Edited by amor de cosmos, 27 November 2013 - 09:14 AM.

[29er Radio]

The owner of that property couldn't have done much due diligence when he bought it. I feel for him as this could turn out to be a real schmozel for him and the surrounding properties. The site in the 700 block of Yates that Concert is building out now sat idle for many years whilst the powers that be looked for the source of the contamination that leaked onto that site. How do you buy a dry cleaner site without finding out about all this stuff before hand?