Our Executive Director, Lois Corbett, spoke to CBC New Brunswick’s investigative reporter Karissa Donkin about the lingering consequences of the December 2019 tire fire in Minto.
The investigation revealed contaminants from the fire have been found in nearby groundwater samples, though government officials say “all indications to date have shown that the groundwater flow from the site is travelling away from the residential wells.”
In the Feb 5, 2021 article, Corbett told CBC that tires burn exceptionally hot and have the potential to leach out toxic and carcinogenic elements.
“Emergency officials, firefighters and departments of environment worldwide know how risky a tire fire is and how important it is to do short-term monitoring and long-term monitoring to make sure that those chemicals that affect people’s health aren’t going into groundwater or drinking water,” Corbett said.
Chemicals that are cancer-causing, like benzene, cause the most concern, she added.
“In a tire fire, you’ll get a super chemical mixture of a number of agents. Benzene always comes up to the top of the list. In a tire fire, because it’s a sub-product of oil, you’ll tend to almost always find it.”
Corbett said it’s good news contaminants appear to be flowing away from residential wells, but stressed long term monitoring will be needed to ensure residents’ safety.