SHAMELESS - LANXESS & MECP ARE BACKING INTO ADMITTING MULTIPLE SOURCES OF CHLOROBENZENE IN ELMIRA"S GROUNDWATER

 

Why am I calling them shameless? I attended the June 19/25 TRAC meeting. I sat in the front row of the gallery to ensure that I could both hear speakers as well as see any maps or Figures put up on the overhead screen. Just now I have sat watching the first hour and twenty minutes or so video of that TRAC meeting as it is available on the Woolwich Township website. The overheads are much clearer and I am almost speechless.

One particular map was put up on the overhead screen that was very relevant. Unfortunately it was difficult to read in particular the tiny little yellow rectangles representing POTENTIAL OFF-SITE CHLOROBENZENE SOURCES.  It was at the 50:38 (fifty minute 38 seconds) mark of the TRAC video. Holy crap but Lanxess can't get their story straight! That map of Elmira has four or five potential off-site source areas for chlorobenzene. They appear to be close to or within the blocks of Industrial Dr., Union St, Howard Ave. and First St. It appears as if both Borg and Varnicolor are coloured yellow as well as others .

Keep in mind that I've stated for at least the last fifteen years that there are other sources of chlorobenzene than just Uniroyal Chemical. Perhaps eight years ago Dr. Neil Thompson of U. of Waterloo wrote a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) in which he agreed that others had leaked chlorobenzene into the groundwater besides Uniroyal. Then last summer/fall I asked Allan Deal (GHD) publicly if he agreed or not. He was presenting a new, updated CSM. and he emphatically denied any second source of chlorobenzene to Elmira's groundwater.

Keep in mind that I am not conflating a second source with what Jesse Wright of Arcadis (working for Lanxess ) referred to as secondary sources. These are not direct infusions of contaminants from an industrial source at the surface but are back diffusion (leakage) from the aquitards (clay & silt) which occurs as the aquifers (sand & gravel) concentrations of chlorobenzene slowly decreases over time which induces the chlorobenzene in the adjacent aquitards to then release their chlorobenzene back into the aquifers. 

I used to think of councillor Bauman as Mr. Flip Flop. This is a breath taking flip flop by Lanxess.

"THE STROH DRAIN IS BRUTALLY DAMNING EVIDENCE"

 

The quote above comes from an anonymous commenter here of two days ago. To this day the Stroh Drain will be draining contaminated groundwater from both the Uniroyal/Lanxess site as well as overland rainfall flow. It was installed after the massive bulk of toxic liquid waste dumping into RPE 1-5 was ended approximately in 1970. It is fair to say that the Uniroyal property and soils were saturated with their liquid wastes to a great depth. Now do keep in mind that the Stroh Drain will be only draining shallow aquifers such as the Upper Aquifer (UA). 

Think about this carefully. The massive volumes of liquid wastes pumped into the five east side pits were done. Yes various swales on the Uniroyal site would still assist southerly flow of rainwater that would be less contaminated than when the pits were operating. Groundwater on the other hand might remain highly contaminated for a very long time. The former low lying swamp on both the Uniroyal and Stroh property originally consisted of both overland flow of liquid wastes as well as of groundwater.  That swamp has been drained by the Stroh Drain, Ditch & Berm (SDDB) hence there no longer is water at the ground surface as the Stroh Drain is dug well below the water table (surface of the shallow aquifer). 

I view the SDDB as a reward to the Stroh family for services rendered. They had allowed, for consideration, toxic liquid wastes from their next door neighbour to flow through their property  and then via the Martin Creek into the Canagagigue Creek. It left however a stinking chemical laden swamp behind. The SDDB drained the swamp on both properties by lowering the water table. It certainly would have been much easier to install the Stroh Drain after the ending of the use of the east side pits for holding massive volumes of toxic liquids. Perhaps the brain trust at Uniroyal thought that the swamp on both properties would dry up when the pumping of liquid wastes to the east side pits ended. That might explain why they waited thirteen years or so to build the SDDB.

Regardless the Stroh Drain as the commenter pointed out "...is brutally damning evidence.".  This Drain is located on the Stroh property in the lowest lying areas which of course is where the overflowing original liquid toxic wastes ended up. As we all know contaminated groundwater takes much longer to attenuate than does surface water. Surface water basically begins cleaning up as soon as the contamination pumped or dumped into it ends. Contaminated groundwater on the other hand can take decades to centuries to clean up. 

LYING - SHORT TERM GRATIFICATION VERSUS LONG TERM RESPECT ?

 

Some lies are white lies as when a friend asks you for feedback on something they've done and you really don't want to hurt their feelings hence you soften your comments  somewhat. Everybody "lies" at one point or another. Pathological liars however get a rush out of telling lies and "fooling" whomever they're talking to. Sometimes the lies are for the purpose of self-aggrandizing other times to avoid censure for actions or mistakes made.  

Then there are corporate and or business lies. These are the lies whereby an employee, manager or director feels an obligation to protect his business or employer. Perhaps there is also a loyalty to the shareholders as well as the others putting staff into a conflict of interest situation. These are the situations whereby staff are often expected to view the situation as them versus us. When the "us" is providing your food and shelter and the "them" is either the general public or even some authority (eg.  Min. of Environment) the choice is easy. 

These are the realities of corporate control over their staff. Especially in a non-union environment corporations can fire at will provided some notice or pay in lieu of notice is given. Take the example here in Elmira, Ontario. Any number of staff or employees could have ratted out the company (s) over the years albeit the risks to career and financial stability would be extreme. This is why both the public and the government (MECP) need verification of all facts and statements provided by the corporation. Many of the issues here could have (and should have) resulted in many more millions of dollars to clean up their mess. This ongoing corporate lying unfortunately needs to be expected. 

Here in Elmira the corporation (Lanxess) has the best of both worlds. Not only can they lie at will but their lies have mostly been given the green light by the MECP. These lies not only save the company millions of dollars but they also protect the Ministry of Environment (MECP) and the government of the day from public condemnation. Corporate lying backed by elected officials both locally and provincially is very difficult to beat. Just ask Uniroyal Chemical, Crompton, Chemtura and now Lanxess Canada. 

 

"CLEANUP LAUNCHED AFTER ELMIRA CHEMICAL FACTORY TAINTS FARM NEXT DOOR" - K-W RECORD

 

"Lanxess has speculated that years ago, toxic chemicals called dioxins and furans were blown onto the farm by wind, or washed there by rain." This is a statement Jeff Outhit (reporter)wrote and was  published in the January 4, 2019 Record . Of course it was but one of many over the decades that raised hopes that Uniroyal/Lanxess were going to do the right thing by both local residents and other downstream lifeforms.

It was not to be. Exercising their uncanny ability to contort truth and facts until they are unrecognizable, Lanxess have dogmatically insisted that they have examined the whole site. Perhaps this harkens back to their former environmental engineer, Jeff Merriman who ingenuously suggested that his world class nose and eyes could pick out sub-surface contamination with ease. No need for professional testing here folks as I (Jeff) declare that all is well. 

Polluters like Uniroyal/Lanxess have learned how to battle stubborn pollution with words when they are unwilling to do the cleanup necessary. For example :  "Soil tests have found a shallow ribbon of contaminated dirt on the farm, up to 500 metres long but limited to the top 15 centimetres and less than nine metres from the factory boundary." Isn't that just amazing. Perhaps the senior Mr. Stroh had put a sign on his property advising that " The premises are monitored 24/7 and any incursions by free flowing liquid toxic wastes past the nine metre mark will immediately result in a manure barrage." or some other equally insidious deterrent. Or perhaps the senior Mr. Stroh had buried sensors along his property line with Uniroyal/Lanxess deeper than 15 centimetres (5.9 inches) which threatened a barrage of contaminated earthworms would be unleashed upon the company. 

The facts are clear. Lanxess have NOT properly sampled or tested the Stroh farm because they are afraid of the truth. They continue to lie and hide behind the Min. of Environment (MECP) as well as Woolwich Council who clearly have been indoctrinated into believing that they must support Uniroyal/Lanxess's verbal nonsense no matter the reality.. 

JANUARY 4, 2019 - K-W RECORD PUBLISHES CLEANUP STORY ON STROH FARM IMMEDIATELY BESIDE UNIROYAL/LANXESS CANADA

 

The reporter was Jeff Outhit and he did a good job in letting the public know that the cleanup was neither extensive nor comprehensive. He quoted Sebastian Seibel-Achenbach who referred to Lanxess's story about wind blown dioxins and or rain washed dioxins ending up on the Stroh farm as being "self-serving". While Sebastian is correct, the rain washing dioxins and more onto the Stroh farm does actually validate the fact that gravity flowing toxic liquid wastes travelled eastwards onto the Stroh farm. This also reinforces yesterday's Blog post and many others in which Uniroyal toxic wastes ended up on the Stroh property. The title of this January 4, 2019 story is "Cleanup launched after Elmira chemical factory taints farm next door". 

What has long surprised me is that neither Health Canada nor any provincial or federal food agencies have ever seemed the least bit interested in these highly toxic various chemicals entering our food supply. Above and beyond cattle producing both milk and beef on the farm, the immediate contaminated property has produced both corn and soybeans for decades.  Whether these are for direct human consumption or for indirect consumption via cattle feed, these are serious health issues. When non-smokers and non-drinkers not exposed to toxins on the job get cancers then it becomes obvious that their exposures are from the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat. 

Thank you Uniroyal, Lanxess, MECP and local politicians for your inattention. 

A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE STROH PROPERTY WAS NOT RAISED AT LAST THURSDAY'S TRAC MEETING

 

I know that interest had been renewed due to the Lanxess site tour in early May. I also know that inaccurate statements were made by Lanxess representatives to diminish the credibility of gravity flow of Uniroyal Chemical toxic liquid wastes over to the Stroh property. Of course it has become obvious over the decades that Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura and Lanxess are extremely adept at making, polishing and gilding falsehoods until they shine brightly. Then by repeating them over and over again even normally skeptical people can be slowly brought around. Maybe not fully but at least to the point where they know that disputing certain falsehoods is a waste of time. If propaganda worked for Dr. Goebbels then why not for chemical companies as well?

The most obvious proof positive versus mere evidence is both the finding and removal of dioxins/furans and DDT on the Stroh farm next to the Lanxess property line in 2019. Yes it was a typical polluter's Mickey Mouse "cleanup" but at least it proved that Uniroyal crap flowed over to the Stroh property/farm. Further very strong evidence would include the detections of dioxins/furans in the Stroh Drain at about 30 times greater than the federal criteria for sediments afterwards . 

Finally no one from the MECP to Lanxess have ever clarified how NDMA was found in a deep Municipal Aquifer well a couple of hundred metres cross gradient and a little upgradient from Uniroyal/Lanxess.

Of course it is very helpful when both politicians and media know their place in the food chain and are careful not to rock the boat or the gravy train.

THEM VERSUS US ?

 

Wow! Quite the developments yesterday. A few days earlier Israel while still bombing Gaza decided to drop a few on Iran allegedly for pursuing nuclear weapons development. One of the problems I see is that various European countries as well as some international monitoring agencies haven't indicated that Iran is doing any such thing. Even some senior U.S. officials have publicly stated the same while admittedly others have said the opposite. Does anyone remember Iraq's alleged Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) turning out to be false? How many times can and does the U.S. lie to the world before nobody believes a damn thing they say? Oh wait that's already occurred under Donald Trump 2.0  . I'm to the point that my rule is whatever "The Donald" says I'm confident that most likely the opposite is true. Again does nobody remember the parable about the boy who cried wolf? Well that fat ars*d boy is now the President of the United States. God help us all. 

There may be some serious or not bellowing from the U.S. Congress that Trump's bombing of Iran is either illegal or unconstitutional. Again allegedly he is required to advise/consult Congress in advance. If the bellowing is serious then I commend whoever does so. If it's just posturing then everybody's time is being wasted. 

What the world should have known for centuries is that international law appears unenforceable upon the strongest countries in the world.  I have long wondered about vetoes being available to the U.S., Russia, China, etc. at the United Nations. What does that say other than all countries are equal except for those who are more equal. 

Might is right and this attitude has trickled down to all tiers of government certainly in Canada and probably throughout the world. Is it any wonder that municipal politicians guard their areas of authority so carefully? Is it any wonder that provincial Premiers do not tolerate either municipal or even federal encroachment upon their jurisdictions? Bad news folks but our politicians behaviour is constantly less based upon doing what's right and more often upon what serves their purposes which mostly is preservation of their authority. Any attempts to do the right thing which may expose political gamesmanship, pettiness or even lesser sins will not move forward. Just look at the scandal involving mercury in the English-Wabigoon Rivers (i.e. Grassy Narrows) and at the phony "cleanup" that's been ongoing in Elmira, Ontario for the past 36 years.