Parks Canada guts a 50-year-old dump in Gros Morne

Truckload after truckload of waste is leaving a 1970s landfill site at MartinPoint in Gros Morne National Park this week.

The remediation of the former dump is part of a federal project to clean up contaminated sites that areat risk to human health or the environment.

"For Parks Canada, our idea is to provide a pristine environment for Canadians to come and visit and look at the sites. It's really important for us. Thatwas the main concern about this site," said Vincent Lussier, senior project manager ofcontaminated sites.

An excavator scoopssoil filled with glass bottles, clothing and car parts into the back of a dump truck that overlooks a beautiful rocky beach and coastline. Lobster fishermen check their traps under the hot sun, less than 100 metres from the remediation site.

"We have found plastic bottles, glass bottles. We found one car frameand car parts all over the place. Mostly like rubber boots, a lot of rubber boots, dolls. Basic household stuff," said Lussier.

Just four kilometres north of Sally's Cove, in the heart of the national park, MartinPoint used to be a quarry site that was an easily accessible spot to dump garbage for residents living in neighbouring communities in the '70s.

The remediation project has been in the works for about five years. It started with crews investigating 700 metres of coastline because it was unclear exactly where the landfill was located.

Butbits and pieces of debris were falling into the nearby ocean.

"We could see exposed waste along the bank, and that is why we decided to remove it," said Lussier.

Early testing discovered lead and other metals are contaminating the soil, and erosion is allowing these materials to leach into the beach and ocean.

"There wasn't much contamination, but we had a concern that the waste might be washed off into the ocean. In case of climate change, sea level rise, storm surge and wave climate,there is a potential issue that thatwaste gets into the ocean and that was our main concern," said Lussier.

The project is part of the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, which was established in 2005, with over $4 billion in funding from the federal government. MartinPoint landfill is one of 23,663 sites in Canada listed as a federal contaminated site.

Nowall the waste is getting shipped to a proper landfill site in Hawke's Bay the closest landfill that will take contaminated waste.

It will take until June 15 to clean up. Tourists and travellers in the area should expect traffic slowdowns and stops while the dump trucks enter and exit the landfill site.

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