Geography
The North Pond and the South Pond have a combined area of 31 hectares (77 acres), and contain 700,000 metric tonnes of contaminated sediments. The nearby coke ovens site spans 68 hectares (168 acres) on a sloping field overlooking the estuary. It contains an estimated 560,000 tonnes of contaminated soil.
A small stream, the Coke Ovens Brook Connector, connects the coke ovens with the Tar Ponds. It served as the main pathway for contaminants migrating from the coke ovens to the Tar Ponds. To the east of the coke ovens, and uphill from them, an abandoned municipal dump served as an additional source of contaminated groundwater, or leachate.
The polluted sites lie in the middle of the former city of Sydney (estimated population 25,000), now part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) (2001 population 105,968).
Almost all contaminates result from coke production, one of the most common industrial processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. While almost all of the contaminants derive from coal, the Tar Ponds include two pockets containing an estimated total of 3.8 metric tonnes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCB's are known to cause cancer, and are attributed to the higher per capita incidence of cancer and cancer related death in Sydney area residents.
Read more about this topic: Sydney Tar Ponds
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