'Tsunami-like' effect of Fort McMurray waste

Sunday, July 10, 2016, 3:48 PM - The massive wildfire that destroyed over 2,000 homes and structures is finally under control, but as residents work to bring life back to normal, the cleanup is quite the daunting task.

"The demolition material is going to come in pretty much in a tsunami-like effect," Fred Thompson-Brown, manager of Fort McMurray's landfill told The Canadian Press. "We've been busy throughout and it's just getting busier."

The fire was just dubbed the most expensive disaster for insurers in Canadian history with losses expected to total $3.58 billion. Those losses have inundated the local landfill and the facts are alarming.

Here is Fort McMurray's garbage by the numbers, courtesy of The Canadian Press:

• 97-175 tonnes: The amount of waste a typical urban home generates after a fire.
• 2,400: Number of homes and buildings lost in the fire.
• 338,400 tonnes: Total amount of ash, soil, concrete, metal and miscellaneous material (some of it is extremely toxic). That is more than the landfill's entire 2015 intake of 250,000 tonnes.
• 47,000+: The number of truckloads to haul the waste.
• 11,437: The number of fridges and freezers the landfill received in June, all of which had to be emptied of rotting food and drained of their gas.

The landfill was reportedly closed for only four days (May 6 to 10) of the entire duration of the fire. A lot of the rubble had already been cleared by the time residents began their journey home on June 1. 

Fortunately, Fort McMurray's landfill was built to accommodate waste from not only the city, but surrounding places as well.

"We've got more than enough capacity and more capacity down the line," Thompson-Brown told The Canadian Press.

The cost of the cleanup continues to rise, with federal money being spent on new bulldozers, compactors and scales. Testing for toxins will have to be tripled or quadrupled, and as the landfill moves to 24-7 operation, staff budgets will be doubled, The Canadian Press reports.

"We're mindful of the pennies, but quite a few dollars are going to have to be spent. It's hard to quantify at the present time. The main demolition phase is still an unknown quantity."

SOURCE: The Canadian Press | Thumbnail 

Watch more: What the Fort McMurray wildfire smoke really means