By Canadian Press

Town tortured by smell of fermenting seafood wafting from abandoned factory

Feb 7, 2019 | 12:32 PM

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — A Newfoundland town is being tormented by the unbearable smell of seafood sauce left to ferment in large vats when a factory was abandoned more than a decade ago.

The owner abandoned the St. Mary’s plant, which opened in the early 1990s, after extended legal battles over food safety complaints.

Much of the sauce was never bottled or sold and the mixture of capelin, herring, water and salt has been fermenting in the 147 vats since.

Each container can hold about 12,500 litres of sauce, which has largely solidified in the tanks and leaked onto the floor over the years.

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Deputy Mayor Steve Ryan said the drains were filled with concrete during a cleanup attempt two years ago and since then the liquid has been pooling on the floor, making the stench unbearable.

The town is asking for help to cover the cleanup costs.

The provincial government is reviewing an application for a cost-sharing program, but Ryan said the town needs help to pay for its share of the cleanup, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.

The Canadian Press