The response came from Lubna Hussain of the MECP and I would characterize it as both friendly and helpful. She informed me that coal tar was found beneath Church St. E. She referred to it as a "historic road layer". O.K. good to know. Apparently soils around this old road layer referred to as "tarmacadam" were tested and it was decided that they needed to be removed. Hmm. Hence both the waste asphalt and the contaminated soils were removed and sent to a hazardous waste site near Sarnia.
I have responded with thanks to Lubna for her initial helpfulness but also asked for a couple of things. One is for a response to CPAC member Rich Clausi's question about whether the rest of the soil left in place has been certified as either clean or clear of contamination and secondly for a copy of the soil lab analysis in which the Region had advised us that benzene was found.
Myself and CPAC are continuing our investigation. I see a couple of possible issues such as the assumption that nearby soil contaminated with benzene had to come from the tarmacadam or anything else found beneath Church St. After all one of the most contaminated sites sits unremediated mere metres away from Church St. E. This contamination includes benzene and a host of other nasties including several Uniroyal Chemical signature chemicals..
We are off on a good foot with both the Region of Waterloo and with the MECP. Historically the Region have been much more forthcoming than the Province (MECP). Let's see who the winner in transparency turns out to be.
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