CHEMTURA AGAIN SEEKING *RESPONSIBLE CARE INDUSTRY DESIGNATION

*Responsible Care covers quite a large area of matters and issues and I will admit that it is by no means a rubber stamp or done deal for Chemtura (Uniroyal) in Elmira, Ontario. They have been unsucessful in achieving it; many, many times and they have however received it on occasion as well. Although I am extremely skeptical and rightly so of all in house, internal, self policing bodies whether professional or industrial nevertheless the biggest boost to the Chemical Industry Association of Canada's (CIAC) credibility for me has been their repeated past refusals to verify Chemtura.

Partly what concerns me is the CIAC's (former CCPA) stated reasons for denying Chemtura verification under *Responsible Care in the past. A big part of it has been Chemtura's alleged failure to engage the local community. This lack of communications if you will has been perplexing to both myself and I'm sure to Chemtura. Indeed their hiring of a Public Relations company last summer (Susex Group) presumably is to address this shortcoming.

The problem for me in a nutshell is a very simple one. Honesty. They don't have it in their dealings with the public. In over twenty years of dealing with them either as a formal member of the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) or as simply a member of the community I have long lost count of the misrepresentations, deceptions, obfuscations and or simple refusal to respond to relevant questions regarding their environmental operations and impact here in Elmira. I am sorry but by any defintion you want, a company that is inherently dishonest with the public, especially after that company has permanently shut down the public water supply does not deserve a *Responsible Care designation.

Tomorrow is a meeting with the CIAC verification team. It includes a representative from Chemtura's West Hill facility as well as two from Elmira. One is the current Chair of CPAC, namely Dr. Dan Holt. Three more are assigned by the CIAC. Dr. Dan has been soliciting opinions of CPAC members on this matter and will appropriately represent them and Elmira citizens. I wish I had the same confidence with all the other verification team members but I do not. It would be grossly irresponsible to reward this rogue company for their decades long misrepresentaion of the truth to the public.