WILL WE EVER DRINK WATER FROM THE ELMIRA AQUIFERS AGAIN?

 

That does not depend upon either science or evidence of adverse health effects. It depends on how desperate we are for water and how little our authorities care for our well being. Based upon politicians growth projections  promoting even more immigration and hence population growth I would suggest that we will indeed be desperate for new water sources including going to Lake Erie. As far as our health concerns go just visit any Emergency Room at local hospitals and you'll see how far behind we already are in having timely and appropriate health care. 

As already stated Dr. John Cherry was aghast at the state of both knowledge and ignorance on display by both Ministry of Environment personnel as well as Uniroyal Chemical personnel when he was a member of CEAC in the early 1980s. Partly my thoughts on removing extremely low concentrations of dioxins, including 2,3,7,8 TCDD, from our Municipal Aquifers is the enormous difficulty in so doing when you look at how Uniroyal/Lanxess have failed with NDMA which has a drinking water standard (ODWS) measured in parts per trillion versus dioxin with a drinking water standard measured in parts per quadrillion (i.e. 1,000 times smaller). The excuses from Lanxess and their consultants frankly border on the ridiculous especially when they can't even reduce chlorobenzene to its' drinking water standard of 80 parts per billion which measurement (parts per billion) is a thousand times higher than NDMA 's parts per trillion and one million times higher than the dioxin Ontario Drinking Water Standard  (ODWS) of  15 parts per quadrillion. 

Perhaps excavation is the way to go. In other words dig up the dioxin contaminated soils between Uniroyal/Lanxess's property and the Howard St. Water Tower where the free phase DNAPL was found originally in 1998.  Also the dioxin contaminated soils on the Nutrite/Yara site would require this as well as dioxins throughout the Stroh and Martin farms currently scheduled by wily Woolwich politicians to be buried under the Elmira By-Pass as well as under commercial development. 

Hmm this is getting expensive but hey as long as clever Uniroyal management can continue to buffalo less than clever Woolwich and regional politicians, they can perhaps, just like the Elmira Aquifers remediation, get the public to pay for half of it. Or conversely they can do nothing but continue obfuscating (lying) and pretending that the dioxins that Uniroyal Chemical allowed to escape their property are nowhere to be found. Of course decades of sampling the Creek primarily by New Jerusalem Rd., Northfield Dr. and Jigs Hollow Rd. outside West Montrose say otherwise. Not a problem for these obfuscational giants to overcome. They will continue to hide behind their recent bought and paid for Risk Assessment  that says there are no unacceptable risks in and around the Creek. Tell that to the dead and sick cattle, the dead and sick human beings and the dead and sick wildlife. 

Risk Assessments for wily polluters are simply greenwashing and not worthy of our respect when conducted under the auspices of the polluter and his/her influence including supplied data.   

Any further remediation/cleanup needs to be conducted by third parties without contact, links, advice or money from either the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) or from Lanxess/GHD. Why reward failure with status or respect by permitting them to continue their scam?