DRYDEN, Ont. — The Ministry of the Environment is investigating new information about potential historic barrels of mercury waste buried on the Domtar mill property at Dryden.
A ministry spokesperson says it recently received the tip from a person employed by a previous operator of the paper mill.
"Ministry staff met with the individual who raised these concerns to investigate the claim and confirm the details of the allegation," Andrew Buttigieg said in a statement.
Buttigieg said the ministry, along with this person and Domtar representatives, conducted a field assessment of the alleged location of the dump, but found no visual indications of a historic excavation or environmental impacts.
He said further research is required.
The ministry is gathering information from groundwater monitoring wells and consulting with Domtar about any records for that specific location.
Buttigieg said ministry officials are still considering the best approach to continue the probe.
"The ministry recognizes the importance of determining if there are buried barrels of mercury waste and sharing all scientific and technical information with local First Nation communities," he said.
Buttigieg added that the ministry provides regular updates to the English and Wabigoon Rivers Remediation Panel.
The dump site reported recently is not on the same part of the mill property where soil samples taken in the fall of 2017 showed elevated mercury concentrations.
A former labourer at the mill had told the Toronto Star he was part of a work crew that dumped drums of contaminated material into a pit at that location.
The ministry is still investigating this site.
Mercury from mill operations in the 1960s, before Domtar purchased the mill, was dumped into the Wabigoon River, contaminating fish and leading to mercury poisoning among residents of Grassy Narrows First Nations.
