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Norad: The DEW Line's toxic legacy
One of the most terrifying visions of the Cold War was the spectre of Soviet bombers and nuclear missiles crossing the Arctic toward North America. To protect the continent, Canada and the United States created Norad, the North American Aerospace Defense Command: a vast array of electronic eyes forever sweeping over the continent. But the world changed since the 1950s, and Norad shifted focus to monitor drug trafficking and terrorism. Yet critics call the organization an expensive monument to the Cold War, and a first step on the slippery slope to weapons in space.
• The Americans had funded the construction of the bases, but were not obligated to clean them up. Canada approached the Americans to foot the cleanup bill, but the Americans wanted to avoid setting a costly precedent that could see them cleaning up former military bases around the world.
• In 1996 the Americans agreed to contribute $100 million towards the $300-million project, in the form of a credit to Canada for the purchase of U.S. military materiel.
• In July 1998, the federal government reached a $230-million agreement with Inuit leaders in Nunavut for the cleanup of 15 DEW Line stations. The deal called for non-hazardous waste to be removed to special landfill sites, while toxic soil was to be excavated and shipped out of the Arctic. Between 65 and 80 per cent of the people employed through the project had to be Inuit, creating an estimated 900 Inuit jobs.
• A key problem was determining how to deal with the large quantity of materials contaminated with PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl). An estimated 30 tonnes of PCBs were used in radio equipment, generators and paint. PCB-laden paint, considered to be extremely durable, had been applied to almost all wood used in the stations.
• The initial plan was for PCB-contaminated materials to be shipped to the high-intensity incinerator at Swan Hills, Alta. But this would be extraordinarily expensive. In 2001, defence department spokesman Pete Quinn said that the materials had been put into steel containers and stored under rules laid out by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Program: This Morning Sunday
Broadcast Date: Oct. 12, 1997
Guest(s): Tony Downs
Host: Avril Benoît
Reporter: Timothy Sawa
Duration: 16:17
Last updated: October 23, 2012
Page consulted on October 23, 2012
All Clips from this Topic
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Canada and the U.S. agree on a new plan to counter Cold War threats.
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Norad: North America's best hope against a Soviet air attack.
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Life on the Arctic DEW Line can be like hell frozen over.
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A computerized nerve centre is carved out deep beneath the Canadian Sh...
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Norad staff demonstrate what would happen if Canada was attacked.
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Angry picketers demand Canada withdraw from Norad.
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Major Donald Holts explains the problem of thousands of objects that m...
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Advanced 'Backfire' bombers render the DEW Line useless, and make Salt...
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A computer glitch triggers an international incident.
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American officials give Canada full control over the nearly obsolete r...
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Canada renews its commitment to Norad, perhaps for all the wrong reaso...
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A massive cleanup effort seeks to undo half a century of polluting the...
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He sees you when you're sleeping. But Norad sees him first!
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In an instant, the role of Norad is changed forever.
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La Macaza, Que., will soon host Bomarc B interceptor missiles.
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One of the most terrifying visions of the Cold War was the spectre of ...
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American cruise missile testing to take place on Canadian soil.