THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE

Wally Ruck of Uniroyal infamy said in 1989 that "NDMA is not in our vocabulary". He and Uniroyal both got lambasted for that ridiculous comment as it was later proven that Uniroyal had found NDMA at extremely high levels in their wastewater in 1979, ten years previously. They also had found it in the air surrounding their facilities many years beforehand and they knew it was a health concern.

Similarly the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE) claimed ignorance of NDMA in 1989. They claimed that September 1989 was the very first time that they had ever tested for it in Elmira. They claimed that they had no standard for it. They claimed that it was some recently discovered industrial chemical and that they had no experience or knowledge with it whatsoever. Some of their comments were lies. That makes me wonder if all of them were lies.

NDMA is known as N-Nitrosodimethylamine as well as Dimethylnitrosamine. Both are one and the same. Both are known to be highly carcinogenic. Some scientists have referred to NDMA as being just about the most carcinogenic compound there is. That's quite a claim with stiff competition from dioxins, PCBs and the like.

In November 1978 the MOE published a booklet titled "Water Management Goals, Policies, Objectives and Implementation Procedures of the Ministry of the Environment". Harry Parrot was the Minister of the Environment.

On page 45 we are advised that there are some chemicals with zero tolerance limits. They would include DDT, PCBs, PBBs, Mercury and Mirex. To this day we absolutely have DDT, PCBs, and Mercury the length of the Canagagigue Creek below the Lanxess (Uniroyal) site. Possibly Mirex in low quantities is there too. Oh we also currently have dioxins/furans. Lots of them. Not to worry however as the MOE have since raised the allowable limits. What was a zero tolerance level when they thought they had none now appears to onerous for some manufacturers to be able to comply with.

On page 50 of this MOE booklet is a list of "Herbicides Actively Used in Ontario". 2,4,5-T is on that list. 2,4,5-T is known as 2,4,5 Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid. It contains as a by-product of manufacture the most toxic dioxin there is which is 2,3,7,8 TCDD or Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin. This dioxin is the toxic ingredient in the infamous herbicide Agent Orange. Uniroyal Chemical in Elmira produced both 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T and then combined them to make and sell Agent Orange to the U.S. military. Here in Ontario we sprayed it along power corridors and highways.

Finally on page 48 there is a listing of substances with undefined tolerance limits. It includes Dimethylnitrosamine and describes it thusly: used in herbicides and cutting oils - identified as mutagenic and carcinogenic

The Ontario MOE knew that Uniroyal had been manufacturing herbicides since the late 1940s or early 1950s. By 1978 or likely earlier the MOE knew that NDMA would be found in their products and or waste waters. Allegedly the MOE didn't think to test Elmira's water for another eleven years? Uniroyal had been testing their waste waters for NDMA at least since 1979. Did the MOE knowingly look the other way while Uniroyal poisoned the water supply in Elmira? Did their lack of a standard allow Uniroyal to profit for an additional decade or longer while handing out death sentences to some Elmira residents? Why do we the public allow corporate murder for profit?