In the podcast clip above, Karin Pratte, the City's senior environment and facilities engineer, and the municipal lead on the PFAS file discusses the complex issue in plain terms with Echo Essentials Podcast hosts Scott Clark and Dave Dale.
- 0:00 PFAS intro
- 3:00 What are we doing to remediate PFAS?
- 5:30 Agency roles
- 7:45 When did testing for PFAS begin?
- 9:15 Changes coming for acceptable PFAS levels in drinking water
- 12:45 How to treat PFAS levels
- 17:45 "An emerging contaminant"
- 19:00 Danger to Lake Nipissing
- 20:00 Remediation will begin this year
- 21:45 Funding from DND
- 23:00 Is $20M enough?
The water at the wastewater treatment plant is tested, Pratte explains in the podcast.
"There is some PFAS. This would be expected because there is PFAS in our municipal drinking water. The concentrations are very similar to the concentrations in our municipal drinking water, if not a little bit lower because they've been diluted with stormwater and rain water. The concentrations at our wastewater facility do not lead me to believe there are significant other sources of PFAS that are entering our sanitary sewer stream."
Find the full-length episode of the podcast featuring Pratte as the guest and other podcast offerings at North Bay Echo.
PFAS OPEN HOUSE
A public information session co-hosted by the Department of National Defence and the City of North Bay held on Thursday, June 20 at Memorial Gardens drew plenty of interest from the public.
Hundreds of community members were on hand throughout the staggered event as the City and DND shared updates on their efforts to address polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) in North Bay's watercourses.
Experts presented results from ongoing studies and remediation efforts, and representatives from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit made presentations and were available to answer questions from the booths that lined the front hallway at Memorial Gardens.
See related: Work starts soon on city's PFAS contamination problem
The big takeaway is that remediation is scheduled to begin this fall. What comes next will hinge on the success of that operation.
"It's been a long road, and a complicated road to get there but now we're finally ready to, hopefully, start removing some of that PFAS mass and prevent it from going downstream and getting into our creeks and rivers and into Trout Lake," said Pratte in the podcast.
"The reason why it took so long is these are really complicated problems. And to solve really complicated problems and to address these issues, you need to understand them," she added.
The MECP representatives shared that there is no standard for drinking water in Ontario but federal guidelines are under review. Many questions from the public surrounded the establishment of an acceptable level of PFAS in drinking water as Canadian authorities weigh a path forward in light of the more stringent levels in play south of the border.
See also: Time for Ottawa to protect Canadians from 'forever chemicals,' toxics experts say
Meanwhile, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Carol Zimbalatti explained the role of the Health Unit is to protect the public by employing the "precautionary principle," and acknowledged, "We have reason enough to believe PFAS is harmful to human health to take precautions," said Dr. Zimbalatti from the podium.
In late March, over 100 people attended a public information session on drinking water pollutants PFAS — also known as forever chemicals — co-hosted by the Trout Lake Conservation Association, Northwatch, and Nipissing Environmental Watch in the North Bay Public Library auditorium.
See related: Packed house for session on local PFAS drinking water concerns
The TLCA is taking the PFAS contamination found in North Bay's waterways, wells, and its source of drinking water seriously and is encouraging members of the public to do the same. In preparation for the June 20 session, the TLCA offered some resources:
- What is PFAS? Risk Management for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) under TSCA | US EPA.
- What homework should I do? Watch this video: The Forever Chemicals | The Water Brothers
According to the most recent TLCA newsletter, "It is our opinion there is apathy on the part of the general population that use the North Bay water system as a water source ... The general population in North Bay continues to, largely, be unaware of the risks associated with the City of North Bay's drinking water.
"Some of the apathy is because local agencies issue mixed messaging regarding the risks posed by levels of PFAS in Trout Lake and the City’s water system. Agencies continue to portray PFAS issues narrowly and often conclude public messaging with misleading statements such as North Bay’s water meets all Canadian PFAS drinking water objectives (that are wilfully out of date and shortly will be replaced)."
