Unexploded WWII bombs buried in Mer Bleue bog, DND confirms

An unknown number of unexploded bombs dating back to the Second World Warare buried in Ottawa's Mer Bleue bog, a popular hiking area, the Department of National Defence confirmed Tuesday.

The 3,500-hectare conservation area, which is ownedand operated by the National Capital Commission (NCC),is located in Ottawa's east end.The area is alsohome to several rare species of plants and wildlife, according to the NCC's website.

Andre-Anne Poulin, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, said in a statement Tuesday that apracticebombingrangewas in active usein the area between 1942 and 1945.The types of munitions dropped included aerialbombs of up to 1,000 pounds (about 450 kilograms).

Declassifieddocuments outlining the presence of unexploded bombs in the Mer Bleue bog were first obtained by the Ottawa Citizen.

Poulin said based onhistoricalmaps and aerial photographs, the department knows where thebombswere dropped, butdoesn't know how many are there.

Poulin said abombdisposal team was tasked in 1960 with clearing theformer range of unexploded ordnance (UXO), butthe nature of the terrain made the job difficult and it couldn't be declared completely free of UXO.

The NCCopened negotiations with the defence department in 1964 to assume ownership of thearea,with the intent of using the property as parkland. The commission was made aware of the remaining UXOand agreed to purchase the land in April 1965.

Radio-Canada reached out to the NCC for comment, but the commission declined.

Risk assessed as low

The UXOrisk at MerBleuehas been assessed as low because the impact area was in the bog itself, so the likelihood of anyone coming across the bombsis minimal.Poulinsaid it won'timpact public use of the boardwalks, hiking and ski trails, or any of the site's otheramenities.

"The historicbombimpact areas are deep within the bog away from any of the public use areas," she said.

Martin Laberge, associate professor of history of international relations in the department of social sciences at the Universit du Qubec en Outaouais, agreed any risk to the public is minimal.

"There's a good chance that the munitions are buried quite deep ... so for people to be wading through the marshes looking for these objects would be quite surprising," Laberge said in French.

"And that's without taking into account the fact that they spent years and years in the water, so the chances of accidents happening there are relatively low."