Tar Ponds Weblog

This aerial picture of the Tar Ponds, located in the middle of Sydney, N.S., was taken in 2004.  The Tar Ponds is a tidal estuary which contains 700,000 tonnes of hazardous waste, including 50,000 tonnes of PCB impacted sediments.  This estuary flows into Sydney Harbour, which then flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Tidal flushing from the Tar Ponds has contaminated Sydney Harbour, which resulted in the closure of the lobster fishery in 1982 in the South Arm of Sydney Harbour, when fisheries scientists found lobsters contaminated with PAHs.

The Tar Ponds is divided into the North and South Pond, separated by a coffer dam.  The South Pond has been drained of water and  is currently being mixed with thousands of tonnes of cement powder.  Over the next couple of years, the North Pond will also be mixed with cement powder using excavators.  In total, over 100,000 tonnes of cement powder will be mixed into the North and South Tar Ponds.  The Ponds will then be capped and landscaped.

Out of sight – out of mind.

Government calls this a cleanup.  We call this a COVERUP as not one ounce of contamination will be cleaned up – only covered up and left for the next generation to clean up once and for all.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are being wasted in this coverup project.