DOES TRAC HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF THEIR PAST POSITIONS & DETERMINATIONS? WHEN IN DOUBT ADJUST THE SCIENCE ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS

 

I believe that it was only six months ago or so that Allan Deal (GHD) reversed the position taken by Dr. Neil Thompson of the U. of Waterloo. Dr. Thompson was working on a Conceptual Site Model for the Lanxess property (formerly Uniroyal Chemical) here in Elmira. Dr. Thompson plainly indicated that there was excess chlorobenzene in the Elmira Aquifers relative to the quantities that Uniroyal Chemical had calculated. I believe that there was also a suggestion that some kind of isotope determination was undertaken which suggested that some of the chlorobenzene was not from Uniroyal Chemical. I am not sure of this last point because it was very poorly explained. Later evidence disputed this.

For me this was a major breakthrough as it at least partially explained some discrepancies involving chlorobenzene being discovered one hundred feet below ground surface very close to pumping well W4 near the Water Tower on Howard Ave. This chlorobenzene exhibited many characteristics of DNAPLs  yet Conestoga Rovers and Chemtura dogmatically and pig headedly refused to even consider it.

Later as mentioned Allan Deal and other mouthpieces for GHD/Chemtura bluntly reversed their positions claiming that available isotope analysis did not clarify whether it was chlorobenzene solely from Uniroyal or not.. When asked directly by myself from the gallery Mr. Deal categorically denied that there was more than one source of chlorobenzene in the Elmira Aquifers. Now Lanxess have again reversed themselves!

At the June 19/25 TRAC meeting Jesse Wright of Arcadis (on behalf of Lanxess) both stated and showed a map indicating multiple potential other sources of chlorobenzene just south and a little west of Lanxess. The map is very small but appears to have Varnicolor, Borg, Nutrite and one or two other companies contributing to the chlorobenzene contamination.

Firstly this explains why after 27 years of pump & treat there is still lots of chlorobenzene in our aquifers.  DNAPLS dissolve very slowly and are recalcitrant at best to pump & treat. Secondly I have to ask the following question: 

Today (July 2025) is almost thirty-six years since our water supply was shut down by Uniroyal Chemical and it's allegedly taken that long for our authorities to realize that Uniroyal never was the sole polluter. I don't believe that for a second. Yes they are stupid but more importantly they are dishonest and they participated in a coverup of major facts in order to make the polluter, the Ministry of Environment and themselves all look less stupid, incompetent and self-serving.