ON-SITE HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL AT CHEMTURA/UNIROYAL

July 8, 2014. It's a few months shy of twenty-five years since Uniroyal Chemical were found to have grossly contaminated the drinking wells in Elmira, Ontario. More than likely based upon complaints about the taste and odours of the water through the 1980's the wells had been comprimised for a very long time. Also the groundwater on-site was known to be contaminated for years prior to the south wells being shut down. Also the 1989 M.O.E. Drinking Water Surveillance Program (DWSP) indicated a number of low level solvents in the south wellfield. More than likely so did many earlier years.

What I also find very strange was the apparent rush to close down various smoking gun in ground waste pits and lagoons just prior to the "discovery" of NDMA in the drinking wells. 1986, 1987 and 1988 were a rush of activity on site primarily on the west side (lagoons) but also on the east side. There had been a major "cleanup" and consolidation of wastes back in 1970 but in the late 80's there was also a shutting down of various pits and ponds including off-site disposal. Almost as if Uniroyal knew the hammer was getting ready to drop on them for their four decades plus of dumping and environmental destruction.

I've been reviewing various historys of Uniroyal's so called waste "handling" and disposal. There is considerable guesswork involved as well as disagreement between various documents. One document talks about closing and covering, another says "decommissioning", others talk about waste removal, pumping out liquid contents, sludge removal and or even digging into the clay liner a little bit. Again some documents categorically claim that 2,4-d wastes weren't handled in the west side ponds and then a few pages later both different documents and the same document state that oh for a while they did handle 2,4-d wastes. So despite the amount of work that has been done there is still huge amounts left. Or as one CPAC member recently advised me there has been as much paperwork management as there has been actual hazardous waste management. The northern RPW ponds require work as does around the Main Tank Farm on the west side. The former operating ponds (RPW6, 7 & 8) have DNAPLS beneath them despite a Lance Armstrong style of denial and coverup. Former landfill area M2 in the south-west corner has never been properly investigated. The east side had claimed that all was well right up to the discovery of free phase DNAPL in RPE1 and RPE3. The northern and eastern pits IR-1 and IR-2 are also problem areas requiring attention. From aniline sludges, DPA tars and chlorobenzene they are long term sources of groundwater contamination. Buried drums have partly been removed in the south-west and maybe fully removed in the south-east. It's difficult to be certain. Even when burial areas have been dug up there has been grossly inadequate investigation beneath the pits for DNAPLS and other sinking contaminants.

The site was and is a disaster. The government assisted coverup of the facts and the truth will forever taint the Ministry of the Environment and continues to this day. Disinformation and misrepresentation by Chemtura is routinely supported by the M.O.E.. Both parties are absolutely shameless and will deny their own data and past reports if they think they can get away with it.