Chris Clegg,
Editor, South Peace News

Let me make this clear. I am not a scientist.
I am also not an expert in the field of contaminants when it comes to the Faust Osmose site. I know very little about dioxins, arsenic, chromium, chlorophenols, hydrocarbons and other cancer-causing pollutants that make one very sick or possibly glow in the dark.
Therefore, I have the greatest respect for organizations like our local environmental watchdog, REAC, and the Lesser Slave Watershed Council, which oversees our local water resources.
Let’s face it. Can we really trust industry or government to the fullest extent of the law, from the deepest part of our hearts, to do the right thing?
Of course not!
Amec Foster Wheeler recommended July 11 at a public meeting in Faust that the Alberta government simply cover the Faust Osmose site with some dirt, leave it alone, and let nature take its course.
That recommendation alone is very, very alarming.
But it’s something we didn’t already know. On Dec. 14, 2016, Big Lakes County initiated a process to apply for a recreation lease disposition of the site. A condition of the lease would prohibit any permanent development and elevated wooden walkways would be required to limit human contact with the soils that are considered contaminated.
In essence, that is what Amec Foster Wheeler recommended. As little human contact as possible.
We have not even started addressing the concerns of REAC and fears of some local residents.
Listening to the experts at the meeting, one got the feeling there seemed to be little concern over contamination. There was so much science presented one was easily confused. Were these people only trying to alleviate concerns to make residents feel better?
We do know some facts. The original site is a cesspool of contamination. The pollutants are biodegrading. How long it will be before it’s safe is anyone’s guess.
We were told by senior hydrogeologist Leslie Handy that 299 samples were taken throughout the area with virtually all of them indicating safe levels of contaminants. He added 205 samples were under four pg/g – a safe level – while 78 were above 72, 41 over 250 and 27 over 1,000.
Levels under four picograms per gram [pg/g] are considered safe in Canada, but 50 in the United States. A pictogram is one trillionth of a gram.
Really! Given the large range of danger, it is clear even the experts cannot agree on the risk.
That is alarming. What is the public supposed to think?
Given the difference between Canada and those Yankees, thank God we live in Canada, where guidelines appear to be more stringent.
“We’re 50 years down the road from how bad it was,” said Handy. “It’s still contaminated but a lot of it has disappeared.”
The debate over whether the site is safe outside the fenced area will never reach a consensus. Emotions are running too high. Whether or not you believe in the science, or whether or not you are guided by fear, is not the point.
The point is as Faust resident Wally Garrick asked, “Would you live there?”