I need to confirm further but my hopes for a new active player on the Lanxess/Elmira scene may have been premature. I truly hope not because her initiative and enthusiasm are badly needed. Next I am seeing moves by Mayor Shantz that are simply negative, delaying moves that are most likely to taint whatever sunny, good news lies that Lanxess Canada are trying to sell the public. Lanxess and their partner in pollution, the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MECP) also desperately want to wrap up the Elmira Crisis in a tidy little bow and finish the charade of the Elmira "cleanup".
That will be somewhat difficult to do as it has now gone beyond denial and reversal that the Elmira Aquifers will not achieve drinking water standards by 2028 unless the MECP arbitrarily raise that standard from 9 parts per trillion (.009 ppb.) to 15 or 20 parts per trillion (.020 ppb.). This is not out of the realm of deceit and deception for the MECP as I believe they did exactly that with trichloroethylene years ago as wells in Cambridge were exceeding the then 5 ppb. standard. Up went the standard only to be returned to the old standard not based so much on new science as on the groundwater concentrations falling in the drinking wells.
"When all was said and done, more was said than was done." This is a quote from Richard Clausi in describing the Elmira "cleanup". Lots of talk and lots of promises generously sprinkled with lots of lies. As far as costs Uniroyal Chemical saved hundreds of millions of dollars in toxic waste disposal costs by dumping both directly and indirectly into the ground and into the Canagagigue Creek while our municipal and provincial governments held their noses, closed their eyes and covered their ears all the while running interference up to and including today for Uniroyal and their corporate successors (Crompton, Chemtura, Lanxess ).
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