Distant Early Warning Line - Deactivation and Clean-up

Deactivation and Clean-up

A controversy also developed between the United States and Canada over the cleanup of deactivated Canadian DEW Line sites. The stations had produced large amounts of hazardous waste that had been abandoned in the high Arctic. Especially damaging were the large quantities of PCBs. While the United States insisted that it was Canada's responsibility to clean up the sites they had managed, the Canadian government disagreed. In 1996, an agreement was reached that saw the United States contribute $100 million to the estimated $600 million cleanup effort. The cleanup is now underway, site by site. In assessing the clean up new research suggests that off road vehicles damaged vegetation and organic matter, resulting in the melting of the permafrost, a key component to the hydrological systems of the areas. The DEW Line has also been linked to depleting fish stocks, pilot carelessness in agitating local animals such as the caribou, non-seasonal hunting, has had a devastating impact on the local native subsistence economies and environment.