Lowther, ON

1986 - The End of an Era - H. Sutcliffe Ltd., Engineers & Surveyors

In July 1986, H. Sutcliffe Limited was appointed by Defence Construction (1951) Limited to develop and implement a Decommissioning Plan for the Canadian Forces Station at Lowther, Ontario. The site was located in the Township of McCrea, approximately 50 km west of Kapuskasing. CFS Lowther was one of 24 CADIN Pinetree Line radar facilities established across Canada in 1957, and one of 17 such sites scheduled for closure in 1987. The complex consisted of the radar station, a ground-air transmitter receiver (GATR) site, and recreational and living facilities to accommodate approximately 200 persons. The primary purpose of this undertaking was to develop a complete inventory of all contaminants located on the site; provide a site location plan for all such contaminants; and outline methods for the disposal of all hazardous materials found on the site. Merlex Engineering Limited of North Bay and Delcan Limited of Ottawa, Ontario, were retained to conduct a detailed soil sampling program throughout the site, and to provide a complete laboratory analysis of all samples taken. The list of hazardous materials included pcb's, radioactive residues, chlorine, sulphuric acid, baygon, 2-4d, petroleum products, asbestos products, and solvents. The final decommissioning plan included a description of the station facility and operational history, inventory of all hazardous materials including location, delineation of the decommissioning process, and details of the clean up process. The decommissioning and clean up operations were completed in 1989.

-- H. Sutcliffe Ltd., Engineers & Surveyors