July 30 (UPI) — Workers have begun the process of removing thousands of gallons of rotting fish sauce from a Newfoundland and Labrador plant that was abandoned in the early 2000s.
St. Mary’s Mayor Steve Ryan said the former Atlantic Seafood Sauce Company plant has been stinking up the town for decades.
“Take the worst rotten fish you’ve ever smelled in your life and times it by 100,” Ryan told The New York Times.
Cleanup plans were delayed for years as various levels of government debated over who was responsible for removing the rotten sauce. The Newfoundland and Labrador government approved a $2 million budget for the operation last year.
Crews finally started the process of cleaning out the plant on Tuesday. Officials said 110 tanks, each holding 3,000 gallons of rotten sauce, are being cleared out.
Sharp Management, the company contracted to handle the operation, is cutting open the tanks and mixing the contents with peat moss to solidify it for transport.
The rotten sauce will then be contained in a specialized waste cell designed to prevent any odor from escaping.
“It’s the only landfill in the province that’s designated to take organic waste. And although this is a very stinky, smelly item, it will be sealed at the end of the day,” lead engineer Glenn Sharp told CBC News.
The clean-up operation is projected to be completed by October.
“I think we’re to a point where we’re there. We’re actually really close to the finish line,” Ryan said. “To be known as the ‘sauce plant mayor’ … it’s time for that to be over.”
