Toxics

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PFAS CONTAMINATION IN NORTH BAY

PFAS Info Session Raises  More Questions About Remediation Standards

It was a packed house again on November 19th for the second public information centre on PFAS contamination in North Bay hosted by the Department of National Defence and the City of North Bay, 18 months after the first session. The widespread contamination, including of the City’s drinking water supply and many private wells and properties, has been known to the City, DND, and the Ministry of the Environment for a decade.  And like the June 2024 session, the public was frustrated with the setup, which had residents sit quietly through a series of presentations by the City, DND, MOECP, and the local health unit with no opportunity to ask questions. Between presentations, the public was directed to take their questions to consultants and agency staff set up at a series of booths in the next room, where they would be answered individually.
In June 2024 the plans for remediation were vague with consultants saying the contaminated soils at the Fire Fighting Training Area (thought to be the most contaminated area) would be removed to a depth of 1 to 1.5 metres, with no clear explanation as to how the decision would be made about the depth of soil removal. In November 2025  it was disclosed that the soil removal was to an average depth of 1.3 metres, with a total of volume of 26,000 tonnes of soil removed. When questioned (one-on-one, at the booth next door) about how it was determined that 1.3 m was the appropriate depth (e.g. based on cost, or based on contaminant levels) the City’s consultant explained that there is a federal guideline of 0.01 ml/kg but because the site was heavily contaminated  that level was multiplied by ten, arriving at a standard of 0.1 ml/kg, meaning that the site – after remediation – will remain ten times more contaminated than the federal guideline permits.

News broke on November 19^th that a class action has been launched seeking compensation for all property owners with private residential drinking water wells within a 3 km radius of Canadian Forces Base 22 Wing North Bay and Jack Garland Airport. The lawsuit is brought against the Government of Canada, specifically the Department of National Defence and the City of North Bay, alleging that both entities are responsible for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination originating from the contaminated site.
At its December 9th meeting City Council approved two contribution agreements between the City and DND. The first is for $8.25 million for a pilot and design of treatment upgrades at the water treatment facility, to enable the federal objective (of 30 ng/litre) to be met. The funding would cover a 6-month pilot of various PFAS treatment media at the North Bay Drinking Water plant along with detailed design work which would result in a tender ready package by the end of 2027. The second is for $102,670,523 million for additional PFAS environmental remediation work at the Jack Garland Airport for the period up to 2037. For both new agreements and the previous $20 million funding agreement the City contributes 3% and DND contributes 97% of the funding. According to the DND financial estimates for 2024-2025 the City of North Bay had requested that National Defence provide approximately $269 million in additional funding for land remediation of PFAS in the land and groundwater at the Jack Garland Airport in July 2023.
Northwatch’s Access to Information requests about contamination in Baggotville and at Point des Chenes near Sault Ste. Marie and sampling carried out there in 2016 are still outstanding.

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2024

PFAS is a class of contaminants known as “the forever chemicals” because they will take hundreds if not thousands of years to disappear from the soil and groundwater where they accumulate. Studies demonstrate links to several cancers and toxicity to reproduction and the immune system. Lees Creek and Trout Lake are contaminated with PFAS. Scroll down for more information.

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PFAS UPDATES

The U.S. EPA announced in early April that levels of PFOA and PFOS — two types of PFAS commonly used in nonstick or stain-resistant products such as food packaging and firefighting foam — can’t exceed 4 parts per trillion in public drinking water.  Three additional PFAS chemicals will be restricted to 10 parts per trillion [nanograms/litre]. They are PFNA and PFHxS — older versions of PFAS — and GenX chemicals, a newer generation of chemicals created as a replacement for PFOA.”

To put the North Bay situation in context, in 2023, North Bay’s PFOS concentrations averaged out to 29 nanograms per litre, or 7 times the US legal limit. Main toxic effects of PFOS include hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, immunotoxicity, thyroid disruption, and cardiovascular toxicity. The US is also committing millions to help municipalities pay for upgrades to their water treatment plants so they’ll be able to comply with the new legal limits.

U.S. limits ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water. What about Canada? April 2024

US sets first-ever limits on PFAS in Drinking Water, April 2024

EPA imposes first national limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water, April 2024

PFAS Information Resources

‘Forever chemicals’ in water on The Current with Matt Galloway, April 2023, listen HERE 

Watch the Water Brothers PFAS episode HERE

Protecting Drinking Water from PFAS – ” Forever Chemicals”: What you need to know (Infographics) (2023)

PFAS Contamination Sites in Airports and Military Bases in Canada (Map) (2023)

Government Response to Petition: How protective and how transparent is the Canadian government response to the Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Class of ‘Forever Chemicals’ in water, products, and waste? (Petition to the OAG) (2021)

It’s Raining ‘Forever Chemicals’ Across the Great Lakes – PFAS Right-To-Know Toolkit (2021)

The Threat of PFAS – The Forever Chemicals (Fact sheet) (2020)

Information about the PFAS contamination in North Bay is available online, including at:

• https://northbay.ca/our-community/environment-sustainability/pfas-information/
• https://www.myhealthunit.ca/en/health-topics/perfluoroalkylated-substances-pfas.aspx
• https://cela.ca/pfas-the-forever-chemicals/ and https://cela.ca/tag/pfos-pfoa/

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For Northwatch’s Archives from 2001 to 2005 go HERE

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