They are relics of Sysco, the popular name for Sydney Steel, the former Nova Scotia Crown steel producer bought by the province in 1967. It has been sold to the Swiss firm, Duferco, with the deal likely to close by Oct. 31. And Ottawa must do the same in Cape Breton, where 700,000 tonnes of toxic sludge has long been ignored by Liberal governments, said McDonough. She used the site, which faces streets of plain clapboard houses, as a backdrop to slam the Liberals' environmental record on the second full day of the federal election campaign leading to the Nov. 27 vote. Ottawa has recognized the tar ponds, filled with PCBs and other cancer-causing substances as well as tarry sludge, as the worst toxic site in Canada.
Environmentalists say it's the worst toxic site in North America.
But besides local damage, sludge from the Sydney tar ponds is leaching out into the Atlantic, McDonough said. He demanded the prime minister and federal environment minister visit the site in person. Families in neighbourhoods around the site have been relocated as a result of toxic ooze from the site welling up in their basements. We welcome your feedback. All rights reserved.