Dive summary:
- Ontario resident Jim Stenton is suing Clean Harbors' industrial hazardous waste site in Ontario for $25,000 because of the facility's terrible odor.
- Stenton claims the odor made him nauseous, gave him headaches, made it hard to breathe, caused him to lose sleep, his eyes to water, made him suffer the discomfort of swollen testicles and even drove him from his home three times last year.
- Under orders from the Ministry of Environment, Clean Harbors has tried numerous measures over the past years to stop or decrease the smell such as covering the leachate ponds with tarps or foam, adding a mister to cover the stench and make it smell like fresh cut grass, and trucking the leachate away; however, if Stenton's lawsuit is any indication, nothing has worked so far.
From the article:
Brown said Stenton has called to complain many times over the years beginning in the early 1990s, to the point where “nobody likes to answer the phone when Jim calls.” Brown said Stenton is “very vocal” over the phone. “He gets very loud, vulgar.” About 50% of Stenton’s complaints could be substantiated, he estimated.
Brown also said that Clean Harbors introduced a Good Neighbours policy in the early 1990s that provides annual payments to the neighbours who live within 1.5 kilometres of the landfill. Those who are eligible receive a base amount, plus additional money based on how much waste enters the site, he said. Stenton is not eligible for the payments. ...
