PUBLIC LYING BY ALL PARTIES IN ELMIRA & THE LONG OVERDUE HOUSECLEANING AT THE SCHOOL BOARD (WRDSB)

 

So let's get real here. Thirty-seven years have passed since the south wellfield in Elmira, Ontario was suddenly shut down allegedly due to NDMA contamination. There were already solvents in the groundwater at those two wells (E7, E9) at low concentrations, courtesy of both Uniroyal and Varnicolor, as per the M.O.E.'s 1989 Elmira drinking water report. Since that time a total of three companies have been proven to be environmental pigs namely Nutrite/Yara (ammonia), Uniroyal Chemical (NDMA, chlorobenzene & hundreds of others plus DDT, dioxins) and Varnicolor Chemical (NDMA, chlorobenzene, & dozens to hundreds of other solvents plus PCBs). Leaking gas stations have been culprits and possibly other larger companies may have also contributed (McKee, Sanyo, Borg etc.) but only Uniroyal and Varnicolor have actually been proven, dirty polluters of the really worst sort. 

So let me say this to Uniroyal Chemical (Lanxess), Ont. Min. of Environment (MECP) and Woolwich Township in particular. You are a pack of  lying, cowardly, bullying pieces of sh*t who have knowingly and intentionally covered up the extent of contamination and human and environmental damage caused by Varnicolor Chemical (& Uniroyal Chemical) for your own self-serving reasons. You disgust me.

Patience is key. The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) finally have been publicly exposed for what they are. It is also my hope that certain public figures who made their reputations as members of that disgusting organization might just have citizens reexamining their support for them. I will list but two names for the moment and that would be Liz Witmer and our very own, thank God hopefully soon to be gone, Sandy Shantz. Is it coincidental that both were attractive women who had been appointed as Chair of the School Board (i.e. trustees) ? I think not. We citizens (both genders) are suckers for an attractive face and the politically motivated among us know that.

Caroline Burjowski has been a one woman wrecking crew. She through her tenacity and conviction took no crap from a bunch of ego maniacs looking for a cause to promote themselves. Furthermore long time trustees Mike Ramsay and Cindy Watson were in it for the long haul. Both have upbraided and criticized gross behaviour by their colleagues over the last few decades. They have stood out as beacons of determination against all odds. 

Last Monday's K-W Record published the following article written by Jeff Outhit and titled "Exodus at the school board".  It critiques the actions of the Board including their lack of transparency and perhaps even honesty in some matters. The Record also covered the court appearances and battles regarding Caroline Burjowski and the WRDSB bullying and intimidation attempts. The School Board really stepped into it big time and made a huge mistake thinking that Ms. Burjowski could be battered and broken through "lawfare" which is one of the ways the Board attacks and intimidates parents and other critics. The WRDSB believe that using the public's money against them in long running and grossly expensive court cases is the key to their winning every dispute. They are filth and Ms. Burjowski, I will admit with assistance from the K-W Record kicked their butts both in the media and in court and it was long overdue! It is my hope that not just the majority of idiot and biased trustees but also the slime at the top of the Board all rot in hell. This also applies to the scum at the top decades ago who protected and covered up both bad teachers and pedophiles like Ron Archer and others.  

    

CHLOROBENZENE FROM VARNICOLOR CHEMICAL WENT INTO ELMIRA"S DRINKING WATER AQUIFERS

 

It now appears less likely that the Ontario Ministry of Environment (M.O.E./MECP) fudged lab results on the Varnicolor site in order to hide chlorobenzene, an extremely common solvent and paint component which absolutely would have been ubiquitous in that company's incoming liquid toxic wastes. Varnicolor were in both the solvent recovery and the toxic waste storage and reduction business. Of course they did more storage illegally than they did actual reduction. 

Other factors for its' presence include the incredible steps the MECP went to in order to hide Varnicolor's environmental disaster and mass toxic dumping on their site. They promised more and deeper monitoring wells on the site and included that requirement in their initial Control Order. They then later reneged on that requirement by removing it from the Control Order. They absolutely refused to accept witness statements regarding a buried road tanker and a buried septic tank in Varnicolor's backyard which were part of an elaborate mass toxic liquid dumping process. Once they were pressured by the public and the media they excavated the road tanker but claimed not to see the septic tank literally a few metres away from it. Myself and Richard Clausi were shown the colour photographs of the excavation and immediately accused the two Ministry employees (Papenhuzen & Robinson) of a coverup as the one employee was actually standing on top of the recently broken up subsurface septic tank and broken concrete and rebar were visible. Sure enough the septic tank was excavated a couple of weeks later and both it and the road tanker's contents and internal stains were tested and found to contain numerous different solvents and other liquid wastes. Finally we were promised that the road tanker would be preserved and carefully examined for intentional holes and leaks that would allow rapid dispersion of liquid contents that flowed into it from the floor drain inside the nearest (orange) building. Instead within a few days the road tanker was reduced to pieces via cutting torches. Also the piping from the floor drain through the building and into the road tanker and septic tank was also seen, found and photographed. 

The coverup of the extent and breadth of Varnicolor's pollution did not end there. Years later soil was excavated and removed from their west side neighbour (Motiveair) and Varnicolor's shallow pump and treat system was expanded to include contaminated groundwater that had flowed from their site over to the Motiveair property.  Again not only zero public notice but also zero notice to myself, the EH Team, APTE (Hmm?), CPAC or any other appropriate stakeholders.

Then we have the nonsense of the June 19, 2025 TRAC meeting where Jesse Wright of Arcadis Inc. showed a blurry picture of allegedly four or five businesses near the corner of First St. and Union St. who had handled chlorobenzene as well as possibly other chlorinated solvents. No company names given and no explanation as to why now in 2024 this information was being made public. Frankly it was all for show.  For many years as the pump & treat system and wells have slowly done their thing the remaining chlorobenzene plumes above 80 ppb. (drinking standard) have been reduced and moved back towards their source. You got it. Right there in both the Municipal Upper and Municipal Lower Aquifers below Varnicolor Chemical and below Union and First St. area is the highest remaining concentrations of chlorobenzene. I kind of suspect that even the slowest members of TRAC were beginning to feel uneasy about that and privately asked questions. Having Mr. Wright make his public announcement was enough to satisfy the poorly informed TRAC members and possibly they hoped to deflect myself as I'd been on the hunt for the truth literally for decades. 

The Ministry of Environment have consistently refused to make information or documents regarding Varnicolor Chemical available to me. This includes the Risk Assessment done in 2016 for Elmira Pump (i.e. the former Varnicolor). They have also refused me simple data such as new monitoring wells whether shallow or deep and their location on the former Varnicolor site.  With MECP agreement I and other CPAC members were bounced from the public advisory committee by Chemtura and Woolwich Township in September 2015. Since then the public including myself and other involved stakeholders have been refused the right to either ask questions at public TAG (now TRAC) meetings or even to make verbal presentations. Clearly Chemtura (now Lanxess) and the MECP have been doing their best to isolate and minimize the by far best informed and knowledgeable local citizen, myself. 

The Ontario Ministry of Environment with support from other local political bodies have been unaccountable and non transparent for decades. They have been caught lying and deceiving over and over again and clearly do not want local citizens knowing the truth of all the sources of contamination  to the Elmira aquifers. 

LESS CORRUPT (?) BUT A LOT MORE DECEITFUL - VARNICOLOR CHEMICAL CONTRIBUTED BOTH NDMA & CHLOROBENZENE TO OUR DRINKING WATER AQUIFERS

 

ONLY BY MASS POLITICAL AGREEMENT & COLLUSION WAS IT POSSIBLE

This of course entailed lying to citizens, residents, voters, men, women and children for the last thirty-seven years. It required gross contempt by every single municipal and regional councillor in the know as well as by provincial Ministry of Environment officials and likely provincial politicians. Is it even possible that our federal government kept a hands off attitude towards the Elmira Water Crisis all these decades because they didn't want to get their hands dirty? Hmm that seems unlikely doesn't it?

The coverup of Varnicolor Chemical's environmental disaster started early with local Min. of Environment (M.O.E.) officials lying to local media and citizens and even going so far as to claim regular passed inspections by the company. This was despite by that time four years of hydrogeological reports (Canviro Inc.) showing significant groundwater contamination with numerous solvents. Further lying and coverups regarding Varnicolor have never really stopped as a sweetheart deal between the M.O.E. and Uniroyal Chemical required Uniroyal to accept full responsibility for all NDMA and chlorobenzene in the Municipal drinking water aquifers in exchange for a very quiet free pass saving them potentially millions of dollars in removing or encapsulating the known free phase DNAPLS on their site which included numerous chlorinated solvents along with chlorobenzene. While denied at the time DNAPLS have also been found off-site in the Elmira Aquifers which source may also be shared between the two companies (Uniroyal/Varnicolor) or not. What the Ontario M.O.E. received out of this deal was less humiliation and loss of face and credibility as despite the severity of the water crisis the M.O.E. might not have survived if it had become public knowledge that there were actually multiple gross polluters operating in Elmira under their noses (i.e. Nutrite/Yara, Uniroyal , Varnicolor). 

The coverup has never ended as evidenced by the September 12, 2024 TRAC meeting in which Allan Deal of GHD Inc. on behalf of Lanxess Canada presented a report titled "Chlorobenzene Source Evaluation". He claimed that despite a report written a few years earlier by Dr. Neil Thompson (U. of Waterloo) that advised that two or three thousand kilograms of "excess" chlorobenzene had somehow entered into the groundwater regime above and beyond Uniroyal Chemical's contribution, that in fact there was no second source. Furthermore isotopic analysis done later also concluded that in most likelihood the chlorobenzene in our drinking aquifers came from different sources. Well!

Not to be deterred Mr. Deal entered his own "evidence". It consisted of analytical data showing chlorobenzene concentration results in a few different wells nearby to Varnicolor Chemical. Out of five different wells presented, three of them had nothing but Non Detects and two had these low concentrations in their Upper Aquifer. Wells CH-43 B/C both were Non Detect as was CH 68-C/D. Then CH-69 C/D had 1.42 and .67 presumably parts per billion. Well OW56-16 presented with .72  (ppb.) and finally a well on Varnicolor Chemical which allegedly is screened in the Upper Aquifer namely MW45 had a Non Detect reading for chlorobenzene.       

This is all very strange for various reasons. First of all while chlorobenzene and all contaminants in the deeper Municipal Aquifers travel horizontally for a considerable distance the same is not true for shallow groundwater especially when its' discharge point is a very nearby Creek. The norm is for little to no shallow soils or aquifers to indicate contamination away from the source. Normally pollution starts at the surface and descends downwards into the deeper soils and aquifers. From there usually the further away from the source the lower the concentration of contaminants in the deeper aquifers. At nearby surface without a source directly above we expect nothing. Hence the whole premise of looking at Upper Aquifer results off the Varnicolor (& Uniroyal ) sites is more than a little weird.

The next problem is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who have indicated that chlorobenzene usually has a very fast degradation time in air, surface waters and shallow soils that are well aerated. Deeper soils and aquifers are a different matter with sometimes incredibly long degradation times depending upon anaerobic conditions. Of course chlorobenzene in DNAPL form can be centuries and longer breaking down on its' own. What this means is that this particular compound can not be easily found via shallow soils or surficial aquifer sampling because unless there is an ongoing fresh source, the old discharges are likely long degraded.

So yours truly has been doing some digging this past weekend as well as this morning. Guess what? Nary a shallow soils or surficial aquifer or even much available in the deeper Upper Aquifer that exists in some locations below Varnicolor's Surficial Aquifer and Surficial Aquitard (and Uniroyal's on the east side). Yes of course the deeper yet aquifers and aquitards have lots of chlorobenzene but not the well aerated much shallower soils and aquifers. This explains why all the very shallow wells (Surficial Aquifer) on the Varnicolor site had Non Detect results for chlorobenzene way back in 1990. Yes one well did have a ridiculous Method Detection Limit of 100 ppb. which may have hidden some chlorobenzene detection at Varnicolor but we'll never know. I had actually begun to think that the M.O.E. had grossly fudged/corrupted the lab results back then. This explains why in the title above I wrote "LESS CORRUPT (?)".  

Mr. Deal, MECP and local politicians are all full of it. Always have been, always will be. Re-elect as many of these politicians this October at your peril. 

 

ARE THERE ANY LIES THE REGION AND THE ONT. MIN. OF ENVIRONMENT WON'T TELL? IF PUBLIC POISONING IS O.K. THEN WHAT ISN'T?

 

"OUNCES PER GALLON" - JIM GERMANN (Elmira Pump)

"THEY ALL LIE" - PAT POTTER (Environmentalist)

Revelations since 2000 include PCBs discovered in a buried drum on Varnicolor Chemical's infamous Lot 91 site in the floodplain of the Canagagigue Creek. Prior to 2000 PCBs were found by the M.O.E. in tanks in one of their tank farms at their 62 Union St. site. By 2004-2008 Nutrite (Yara) were firmly on the hook for Ammonia contamination within the Elmira Municipal aquifers. In 2016 a Risk Assessment presented at a public meeting in Woolwich Council Chambers for the former Varnicolor site on Union St. (now Elmira Pump) revealed six chlorinated solvents had been found beneath the site in the Municipal Aquifer. Allegedly none of them were Uniroyal chemicals which may have been a little disingenuous. In 2024 a consultant (Jesse Wright)  Arcadis Inc. announced at a TRAC meeting that six chlorinated solvents found in Elmira's Municipal Aquifers came from Varnicolor Chemical. Allegedly chlorobenzene was not one of them. Also very oddly Mr. Wright announced and showed on a map that four or five nearby industrial sources of chlorobenzene had been determined. Very odd considering that this was incredible news that should have been announced approximately thirty or thirty-five years earlier when authorities allegedly were searching for the sources of NDMA and chlorobenzene contamination to the Elmira aquifers. These nearby sources were very close to the intersection of First St. and Union St. also oddly very close to Varnicolor Chemical bounded by First St., Union St. and Howard Ave. The last revelation is that DNAPLS (chlorobenzene) were admitted to have been present by the Elmira Water Tower on Howard Ave. in the TRAC Minutes of  September 12, 2024. This is beside former pumping well W4 and monitoring well OW57-32R. 

The 2016 and 2024 revelations combined with reviews of other documents mentioned here in yesterday's Blog posting led me to yesterday's determination that NDMA being formed beneath Varnicolor Chemical at 62 Union St. in the 1980s at the least contributed to the NDMA poisoning of the Elmira population. 

At least one more revelation is likely long overdue. How is it that a solvent recycler of thirty years  experience on that site allegedly never handled/mishandled chlorobenzene like every other common paint and finishing solvents they dumped, spilled and leaked? If many of the lies and truth distortions of the past 37 years have been exposed then is their contribution to the chlorobenzene contamination next? If so then the Ontario Ministry of Environment faked the hydrogeological reports showing chlorobenzene as Non Detect on this site. That is corruption they can not survive.

 Jim Germann's quote above was stated at the public meeting in Woolwich Council chambers in 2016.

Pat Potter's quote was on T-shirts she wore to public environmental meetings.

OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE OF NDMA CONTRIBUTION TO THE ELMIRA AQUIFERS BY VARNICOLOR CHEMICAL

 AS PREVIOUSLY STATED MECP & UNIROYAL ILLEGALLY COVERED UP VARNICOLOR'S CULPABILITY IN ORDER FOR MECP TO SAVE FACE & CREDIBILITY, WITH UNIROYAL GIVEN CLEANUP CONCESSIONS SAVING THEM MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

The evidence is overwhelming and includes witnesses and affidavits of an on-site can coating process in which the liquid wastes including dimethylamine were dumped down the drain into the illegal backyard disposal system. NDMA analytical results for both Varnicolor groundwater and soils, proven chlorinated solvents having penetrated into the Municipal Aquifer, both free phase DNAPLS and LNAPLS on the Varnicolor site indicating that the volumes being discharged were far greater than the groundwater could dissolve and finally the fact that Uniroyal and successors have admitted failure to successfully remediate our drinking water aquifers by the mandated 2028 deadline. This is due partially to the excess chlorobenzene and NDMA discharged illegally into the Elmira aquifers by multiple polluters including Uniroyal, Varnicolor Chemical and maybe more.

The witnesses and affidavits include a former Varnicolor and Uniroyal employee who operated the can coating process as well as myself. The former Varnicolor and Uniroyal employee's Affidavit is in the Environmental Appeal Board's Brief of Documents Volume 9.  NDMA analytical results include Golder Associates Hydrogeological Assessment of Varnicolor Chemical as well as the Addendum to that. One on site shallow well has a result 48 times greater than the drinking water standard with others lower but still greater than drinking water standards. On site soils had results also considerably higher than the groundwater concentrations. A Supplementary Brief Of Documents by the Environmental Appeal Board (Jan. -June 1990) also has a result of NDMA  in a tank farm sump at 14 parts per billion. Keep in mind that the drinking water standard for NDMA is .009 parts per billion. The proven half dozen chlorinated solvents from Varnicolor that penetrated into the Elmira Municipal aquifer included trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride, two highly toxic compounds. The first proof of this occurred in May 2016 in Woolwich Council chambers during a public Risk Assessment of the former Varnicolor Chemical. The media did pick this up briefly plus two years ago a consultant for Lanxess publicly confirmed at a TRAC meeting that six chlorinated solvents from Varnicolor had gotten into the Elmira Municipal Aquifer. DNAPLS and LNAPLS at Varnicolor were confirmed by Golder Associates as well as LNAPLS by the owner of Elmira Pump, Jim Germann at the public meeting.    

It is public knowledge that the cleanup has failed to deliver as promised or on time. What is not public knowledge is that the Ontario government were clients of Varnicolor Chemical and it wasn't recycled solvents that they were buying. They were buying disposal of toxic liquid wastes from various Ontario Ministries including the Ministry of Transport. Some of these wastes included plastic pails of trichloroethane. They also were disposing of lab wastes with Varnicolor. Some might find a bit of a conflict of interest here in that Ministry of Environment inspectors were beyond lenient with so many infractions, shortcuts and obvious illegalities on both Varnicolor properties in Elmira. Other strange behaviour by the Ontario Ministry of Environment includes their refusal to provide requested cleanup documentation including the 2016 Risk Assessment to myself, the person who blew the whistle on Varnicolor and lost my job over it. They also have refused to acknowledge further off-site cleanups precipitated by Varnicolor's pollution to the immediate west of Varnicolor; perhaps all in the spirit of  collusion with Uniroyal and successors, to the detriment of the public interest.   

REGION OF WATERLOO & MEDIA CONTINUE TO GILD THE LILY REGARDING BOTH QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF OUR GROUNDWATER

 

There is a most unusual technical, hydrogeological report on-line that I read many, many years ago. Like many others, rereading it years later is very helpful especially if one has been constantly elevating one's   background knowledge and staying up to date with current events. Now I am somewhat reluctant and concerned to be the bearer of bad news particularly because I know that our idiot politicians are highly likely to do what they do best, which is to misuse and abuse information for their own self-serving purposes.  This report is titled "Groundwater Contamination In The Kitchener-Waterloo Area, Ontario". It was written in 1995 by a group of hydrogeologists from the University of Waterloo and possibly elsewhere. Many of these are well known, world class hydrogeologists including names such as Sanderson, Karrow, Greenhouse, Paloschi, Schneider, Mulamoottil, Mason, McBean, Fitzpatrick, Mitchell, Shrubsole & Child. Dr. John Cherry is also referenced in this report.

Recently I have published here various known contaminants in various Waterloo Region wellfields. This report expands significantly on my Blog postings of last month (July 2026) describing various wellfields and the various toxic contaminants in their groundwater. This report focuses on four older wellfields namely one in Waterloo (William St. Wellfield) and three in Kitchener (Greenbrook, Strange St. and Parkway). It also advises that at the time of this 1995 report there were twenty-three different wells involved over the four wellfields with four in the William St. Wellfield, seven in the Greenbrook Wellfield, seven also in the Strange St. Wellfield and finally five in the Parkway Wellfield. Currently not only are there different numbers of wells versus in 1995 but appropriately old wells that have been shut down since 1995 have had their names removed and new wells have of course new names.   

This report indicates that BTEX compounds normally from gasoline have been detected in all four of these wellfields. The BTEX compounds are benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) has also been found in all four wellfields.  PCE or Perc(hlorethylene) has often been used by dry cleaners in decades past. Very worrisome are aluminum, cadmium, chromium and lead all found in the Parkway wells. Two items of interest: these metals are often associated with tanneries producing leather of which two local names come to my mind i.e. Breithaupt and Lang. Gee you don't think that our regional politicians have been keen to avoid embarrassing prominent local, industrial families do you? The second item of interest is the plan to allegedly rehabilitate the Parkway wells. Oddly we have mercury in the Greenbrook Wellfield. That compound could be from a tannery or even possibly naturally occurring nearby. 

The last one is a humdinger. Total PCBs have been detected in the William St. and the Strange St. Wellfields. My God!  PCBs or Polychlorinated Biphenyls are a first cousin to dioxins and in some cases are even referred to as "dioxin like". My guess is that the former Uniroyal Tire plant on Strange St. may be a culprit based upon their plethora of toxic compounds found in the air in and around the plant decades ago. 

Now I have a teaser for you. Is it possible that there is strong analytical evidence that Varnicolor Chemical in Elmira not only contributed six chlorinated solvents to the Elmira drinking water aquifers as stated here yesterday, but also NDMA? Stay tuned for tomorrow's Blog posting.

   

TRAC & WOOLWICH TWN. GIVE YOUR HEADS A SHAKE! ENVIRONMENTAL COVERUPS & PHONY CLEANUPS ARE THE NORM, NOT THE EXCEPTION

 

I'm also going to add that government communications with the public are also usually disingenuous and misleading if not outright dishonest. Those communications have gotten so shoddy in both quantity and accuracy that it's now to the point that government's hiding secrets will look citizens in the eye and tell them "Sorry we can't clarify this or explain why because we have been forced at gunpoint/torture or worse to sign NDA's (Non-Disclosure Agreements)". The "or worse" for politicians simply means that they are afraid that they might get kicked out of office at the next election if they honestly tell why they have taken an action such as say spending $55 million dollars assembling and removing from production 600 acres of prime farmland in Wilmot Township. 

One of the biggest political lies is that there are no negative health effects from environmental spills and accidents. With one hand behind their backs and two fingers crossed they can honestly (in their wee minds) state this because knowing that all of us are mortal anyways they can justify the lie by telling themselves that those folks were on their way out regardless and if not from mercury, nitrates, TCE, NDMA,  vinyl chloride, smoking or drinking they are going to die anyways either from time or something else. Examples abound including the train derailment in East Palestine U.S.A. two or three years ago, Grassy Narrows mercury poisoning for the first decade after it went public, Agent Orange damages in Viet Nam and to American servicemen, trichloroethylene (TCE) via vapour intrusion in the Bishop St. community in Cambridge causing cancers and death, and many premature deaths in Elmira, Ontario both from Varnicolor Chemical and Uniroyal Chemical including a foreman at Varnicolor already diagnosed from solvent poisoning prior to the shutdown at Varnicolor and then his subsequent employment at Uniroyal. 

The vast majority of cleanups promised are the Cadillac cleanups whereas the reality is simply Volkswagon Beetle cleanups. This most certainly includes the Varnicolor Chemical "cleanup" back in the mid 1990s which was supposed to then require ten years of shallow pump & treat (hydraulic containment) however by 2016 the pumping was still going strong and only in 2024 were we finally told that yes indeed Varnicolor Chemical had contributed half a dozen toxic chlorinated solvents to our deeper municipal drinking aquifers after thirty-five years of government lying (M.O.E.) and coverup. In fact M.O.E. lawyer Stanley Berger back in 1991 at the public Environmental Appeal Board  hearings in Elmira actually stated that Varnicolor's pollution compared to Uniroyal was like a water pistol in a thunderstorm. The same dishonesty has been going on with the Uniroyal "cleanup" from day one with all government tiers claiming success by the mandated 2028 cleanup for twenty-five years (1993-2018) and only admitting failure AFTER the 2011-2015 Citizens Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) publicly advised Woolwich Council and the M.O.E. that it absolutely wasn't going to happen on time or even close. Now even the most blatant truth challenged parties agree, and the excuses with help from a few misguided citizens, are in high gear.