Montréal Fire: AIM's Pollution Saga Continues

0:00It's April 26. You're listening to Canada News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Cori with the story. A massive fire broke out early Thursday morning at the American iron and metal recycling yard in Montreal, Est. Right as the city yanks some of their, operating permits for years of dumping illegal toxins like PCBs and heavy metals into the air. The blade started around 5.20 a.m. from a battery and a scrap pile, sending thick black smoke over neighborhoods and even downtown Montreal. City officials swear the permit revocation was planned beforehand, no connection to the flames, and they've given the company 30 days to clean up. They're active shut down those polluting operations. This 90-year-old giant, with over 4,000 employees worldwide and 1200 right there in Montreal, Est, has a long rap sheet of violations. Independent tests show their emissions blowing past limits. PCBs 90 times over in late November, arsenic 23 times higher back in June.

1:03Plus iron particles and more. The city suspended gear last October that spewed this stuff, but aims sued them over it. Folks in the area got spooked by the smoke, so public health told everyone smelling it or coughing to hunker down with windows shed. Firefighters battled it for over 7 hours with 55 crews and 23 trucks. Environment Minister Pasgale Dairy hit social media quick to say risks were contained and health experts crunched real-time data from a mobile lab. No. Dangerous toxin levels, no need for evacuations. By Friday, air quality snapped back to normal, but the province is circling wagons. Their deploying experts and planning enforcement with city and federal help in the coming months to force full compliance. Health officials are still wrapping up a review of long-term impacts from the site's emissions they started this year. Meanwhile, AIMs pushing back legally as tensions simmer, but regulators aren't backing off this saga as far from over, with eyes locked on cleaner air.

2:05Ahead.