FYI: Apparently this was an April Fool's joke by 24 Hours staff. Good one!

'Tear it down'

By APRIL PHULES, 24 HOURS, April 1, 2009

The rock sculpture that inspired the 2010 Winter Olympics' logo is an environmental hazard and should be removed immediately, according to a report leaked to the media yesterday at the 8th World Conference on Sport and the Environment.

A scientist hired by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans found the English Bay inukshuk is leaching acid into English Bay and recommended it be dismantled and disposed in a lime pit while the soil is remediated.

The site, popular among picture-taking tourists, would be off-limits until April 1, 2010.

Dangerous levels of arsenic and cadmium were measured in a dead crab that poisoned a hungry dog at the New Year's Day polar bear swim.

Environmental scientist Yu Renjie traced the source to the inukshuk. Renjie blamed "natural weathering" of the traditional Inuit rock sculpture.

"The subject contains natural pyrite mineral grains that have reacted with rainwater to create a toxic soup," he wrote. "We need to tear it down."

The granite inukshuk was built for Expo 86 by Inuit artist Alvin Kanak. It was the basis for Elena Rivera MacGregor's 2005 winning design for the VANOC logo.