SAFETY-KLEEN (BRESLAU) ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

More than a decade ago I had a two page listing of all the hydrogeological reports that had been done on Breslube/Safety-Kleen. This listing I will estimate encompassed somewhere in the vicinity of fourty different professional studies of this site in Breslau, immediately upgradient of the Grand River and two Kitchener drinking wells. Here in Canada we are becoming famous for our professional technical expertise and studies. Unfortunately we are also becoming famous for our abilities to continue studying contaminated sites forever versus actually cleaning them up. Apparently pen and paper are much cheaper than backhoes, excavators, trucks and landfill or other disposal options.

The most recent report that I have is dated November 2002 by Cameron-Cole of Boulder Colorado. We are advised that the free phase petroleum hydrocarbon plume includes "low concentrations of PCBs and other chlorinated solvent hydrocarbons." These other chlorinateds would include for example, vinyl chloride a breakdown product of Trichloroethylene. The "low concentrations" of PCBs are up to 21 parts per million (ppm) in the soil and from 75 to 340 ppm in the oil. These are not "low" concentrations. Among numerous issues I have regarding the proposed remediation is the fact that the latest monitoring results appear to be going on nine years old. Although I don't expect much change from then, nevertheless more up to date results should be available.