Piles of scrap metal and batteries burned in the courtyard of a recycling plant in Montreal’s east end on Thursday, causing a plume of thick, white smoke to drape the city in acrid-smelling fumes.
The fire at the recycling plant, the American Iron and Medical (AIM) facility, prompted an investigation by Quebec’s Environment Ministry and a health warning from Santé Montréal.
And the City of Montreal announced that it is revoking the company’s operating permit, citing repeated pollution violations.
“Despite repeated requests from the City of Montreal over the years to bring the site into compliance, repeated excessive levels of PCBs, particulate matter, and metals continue to be measured at the property line of the company’s site,” said Rosiane Tessier, a spokesperson for the city’s executive committee.
The facility is located in Montréal-Est, a municipality near the eastern tip of the Montreal island.
Firefighters have been battling the blaze since around 5:45 a.m. They say industrial material is burning in the plant’s courtyard near the corner of Henri Bourassa East and Rodolphe Forget boulevards.
More than 20 firefighting vehicles have been deployed to try to put out the fire.
But heavy smoke billowed from the site and snarled traffic around the plant.
Quebec’s Environment Ministry says it was notified at 6:30 a.m. of a fire in the plant’s courtyard and says the fire began as a battery fire that spread to a pile of scrap metal.
The plume of white smoke is billowing towards the southwest, the Environment Ministry says — aided by strong winds.
Environment Canada says wind speeds are 20 kilometres per hour, with gusts of 40 kilometres per hour, out of the northwest.
The ministry has so far issued no evacuation or confinement notice.
A mobile laboratory has been deployed to the area to attempt to determine the risk caused by the fumes.
Santé Montréal issued a notice on social media warning that the fire was affecting air quality.
The warning says people experiencing symptoms like chest pain should stay indoors, close their windows and reduce outdoor physical activity.
Young children, people with respiratory illnesses, pregnant people, seniors and those working outside are at higher risk.
Anne St-Laurent, the mayor of Montréal-Est, said the City of Montreal’s decision to revoke the plant’s operating permit on the same day as the fire was pure coincidence.
The city had already made the decision, she said, following years of testing the environment around the plant and detecting high levels of harmful polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
St-Laurent said the company refused to reduce its emissions to the required levels. Now, the permit revocation means the plant has to cease operating three of its machines or reduce emissions within 30 days.
“A company like that has to conform to the environmental regulations in place,” she said. “We gave them time to conform, unfortunately they haven’t done so.”
CBC has reached out to AIM for comment.
