Coincidental timing: City says it was already planning to yank recycling plant’s permit when fire broke out

The Montréal-Est scrap metal recycling facility where a major fire broke out Thursday morning continues to operate despite the city revoking some of its operating permits due to years of alleged illegal emissions of PCBs and other toxic pollutants.

A spokesperson for the city of Montreal’s executive committee confirmed that American Iron & Metal (AIM) Inc. on Henri-Bourrassa Blvd. in Montréal-Est has 30 days to conform to regional air pollution bylaws.

The city announced it was revoking some of AIM’s operating permits on Thursday morning, just hours after the fire broke out at 5:20 a.m. The city insists the timing was coincidental and the announcement had been prepared before the fire broke out.

The 90-year-old scrap metal recycling company is headquartered in Montreal, with multiple recycling yards across the province and more than 135 facilities worldwide. It has more than 4,000 employees, including 1,200 at its Montréal-Est operation.

The company released a statement Friday saying it is “evaluating its options” after reviewing the city’s communications about its operating permits.

The fire, which the provincial environment department said was caused by a battery in a pile of scrap metal, sent a large plume of gray-black smoke wafting over the neighbourhood and to parts of downtown Montreal. It took 55 firefighters with 23 vehicles more than seven hours to put out the fire.

Montreal’s public health department issued a statement telling anyone who could smell smoke or who had respiratory symptoms to stay inside, with doors and windows closed.

Provincial Environment Minister Pascale Déry took to social media to reassure residents “that the risk of contaminant release is contained.”

On Friday, a spokesperson for Déry said the department is taking the situation seriously.

“The ministry plans to take action in the coming months to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations and permits, in collaboration with the city and the federal government,” said Simon Savignac. “We are monitoring the situation very closely.”

On Thursday, the environment department sent its mobile laboratory, known as TAGA (Trace Atmospheric Gas Analyzer), to the site. The vehicle, which looks like a large RV, is used to characterize contaminants in the air surrounding a fire or other environmental emergency. The team of scientists aboard can then calculate the concentrations of harmful substances and determine the extent of the zone affected by pollutants.

The area immediately surrounding the scrapyard is industrial, but there is a residential neighbourhood about a kilometre to the north, and air samples were analyzed.

Dr. David Kaiser, medical director of Montreal’s Public Health department, said his team was able to receive data from TAGA on Thursday and analyze it in real time to ensure the smoke did not contain toxins at levels that would seriously compromise human health and/or require evacuations or other emergency measures.

Air quality levels had returned to normal by Friday.

Kaiser said his department was asked by the city in 2024 to analyze potential health impacts of emissions from the AIM facility. That analysis is not yet complete, he said

“When we are talking about PCBs and arsenic, these are things that can have significant impact on health,” he said.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are synthetic chemicals that were widely used in the 20th century, particularly as electrical insulators and coolants in industrial equipment. The release of PCBs into the environment has been prohibited in Canada since 1985, as they persist in soil and sediment and have been linked to health problems, including cancer, immune system problems and developmental effects in children.

The city’s announcement on Thursday detailed a long history of run-ins with the company over non-compliance with pollution regulations.

“The city confirms that the results of ambient air monitoring conducted by the company consistently exceed the permitted limits for emissions of PCBs, particulate matter and certain heavy metals, including arsenic,” the statement explains. “Independent analyses carried out for the city demonstrate a correlation between PCBs, iron, arsenic and particulate matter from the AIM site. A chemical signature study also identifies specific site processes as sources consistent with the PCB concentrations in ambient air.”

Air samples taken around the facility in November of 2025 showed 90 times the permitted level of PCBs, the city says. In June, arsenic concentrations were found to be 23 times the permitted level.

The company has already sued the city after it suspended AIM’s permit to operate certain equipment that emits PCBs in October 2024.

In May 2025, the city postponed its final decision to suspend and revoke certain permits, and asked the company to provide a “unified permit application.” That application would have to show the company had modified its processes to capture and purify its emissions.

In November, the company submitted an application based on processes already rejected by the city, according to the city’s statement.

The city claims it informed AIM in February that it was beginning the process of suspending and revoking certain permits.

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