Tecumseh residents living around the Bonduelle plant should start noticing less odour coming from the plant in the coming days.
Management at the plant say they have been working with engineers to resolve the odour issue. The odour comes from the process used to clean the vegetables. The water that is used to clean the vegetables is decontaminated by aerobic bacteria eating the organic contaminants during a process called lagooning. In winter, the lagoon is frozen and bacteria are dormant. Since water has been stagnant for a long period of time when spring thaw occurs, aerators are used to release the contaminants and let the bacteria do their work.
Two of those aerators were broken, causing the odour to linger.
“The five aerators used to release the contaminants and allow the bacteria to reach and start ingesting them have been redistributed and are now effectively covering the whole lagoon,” said Rob Anderson, Vice-President of Operations at Bonduelle.
One of the two broken aerators has also been repaired and should be fully operational by Friday.
“Although our actions of this week have been successful, we would like to emphasize that the natural process of the lagoon requires time for the odour to dissipate completely,” added Anderson. “We understand the inconvenience this is causing and offer our most sincere apologies.”
Nearby residents say they have noticed an improvement in the smell since Tuesday.
