![]() ![]() An environmental assessment, project designs, and the quest to secure funding soon followed. In 2002, a Project Advisory Group reached an agreement to explore the idea of containing and capping the sediment. Studies were conducted over several years to determine possible options for cleaning up the site. The site was identified as a principal target of Harbour restoration objectives in the late 1980s. There were multiple sources of contamination including coal gasification, petroleum refining, steel making, municipal waste, sewage and overland drainage. PAH contamination at Randle Reef is a legacy of a variety of past industrial processes dating back to the 1800s. ![]() The contamination is often described as “a spill in slow motion” due to the continuing slow spread of contaminants across the Harbour floor and uptake into the food chain of the Harbour ecosystem. It is the largest PAH-contaminated sediment site on the Canadian Great Lakes. The site contains approximately 695,000 cubic metres of sediment contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other toxic chemicals. Located in the southwest corner of Hamilton Habour, the Randle Reef site is approximately 60 hectares (or about 120 football fields) in size. While many improvements have been made to reduce pollution in the Harbour, the legacy problem of contaminated sediment remains. In 1985, the Harbour was identified as an Area of Concern under the Canada–United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement due to significant impairment of water quality, loss of fish and wildlife habitat, and contaminated sediment and fish and wildlife populations. The cities of Hamilton and Burlington, with a combined population of 750,000 people, are located within and around the watershed. The Harbour’s watershed covers more than 500 square kilometres and is drained by three major tributaries – Grindstone, Spencer and Red Hill creeks. Industry, commerce and residential areas, along with private and public open spaces share its 45 kilometre shoreline. It is the largest naturally protected harbour on western Lake Ontario. Hamilton Harbour is the western tip of Lake Ontario, separated naturally from the lake by a sandbar known as the Beach Strip. ![]()
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