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SYDNEY, N.S. (CP)--A federal health official believes incineration is still the best way to get rid of 700,000 tonnes of PCB-laden sludge in Sydney's infamous tar ponds. We can get rid of the PCBs in the tar pond--we need to incinerate them," Dr. Andy Gilman, a Health Canada toxicologist and pathologist, said recently. Gilman was in Sydney for two days of meetings with the Joint Action Group (JAG), a group mandated to develop a community-based plan to clean up the tar ponds. His comment was greeted by both smiles and gasps at the meeting because incineration has been so hotly debated in Sydney. I don't think Dr. Gilman knows just exactly what a bad taste the community has for incineration," said Mike Britten, JAG's program coordinator. However, he said, JAG remains committed to exploring all options for the tar ponds and coke ovens site, including incineration. Gilman said PCBs can be stored for only so long before there is an accident, and Canada has developed the technology to safely burn the toxic chemical. About $50 million was spent on a failed plan to burn the tar ponds sludge in two incinerators. The project was abandoned when a pipeline built to carry sludge to the burners kept plugging. A high percentage of PCBs in the tar ponds is located where the ponds meet Sydney harbor. Gilman said it could only be a matter of time before the sludge begins moving out into the waterway in greater amounts. We have to destroy them," he said. "We were the ones who created these monsters."