Today's K-W Record gives us a little further insight. On the front page is a story by Brent Davis titled "New building rises at old industrial site in Kitchener". An eight story apartment building is being built at the former Electrohome site on the corner of Duke and Shanley streets in Kitchener. The developer allegedly finished cleaning up the contamination on the site in 2023. The original 1898 building was torn down in 2020 and the site was contaminated with trichloroethylene for many decades.
Firstly cleaning the site itself literally decades after the contaminated groundwater has left the site is unconscionable. What if anything has been done regarding the now off-site dissolved groundwater contamination? Secondly has there even been the tiniest attempt to look for free phase (i.e. undissolved) trichloroethylene (TCE) which is a well known and prominent DNAPL chemical off site? Free phase DNAPL can flow underground significant distances based upon numerous factors including subsurface stratigraphy, initial volumes of TCE released etc.
Dissolved TCE can enter homes via vapour intrusion through basements causing immense human health issues. Free phase TCE (DNAPL) can also slowly dissolve over decades producing toxic plumes of contamination for decades and longer.
Besides the City of Kitchener, the developer and our Mickey Mouse Ministry of Environment, who else has seen the remediation results including groundwater and soil samples? Exactly how much of a "cleanup" did they actually do? Has this whole process of our authorities allowing this contamination to migrate for decades simply been to reduce the on-site concentrations making the site more attractive for developers and to hell with the health of nearby residents?
Utterly disgusting.
THE PROCESS: They did a lot of simultaneous sucking and blowing and then they waved their "magic wands" and declare it "officially" clean! and then all that's left is bury it under a 15 minute city or industrial development to generate the highest development fees and property taxes possible. What a FUCKING FARCE!
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