MORE ON 2013 BIOMONITORING STUDY

Here are a couple of further thoughts or ideas relating to the now biannual Biomonitoring Study. This study occurs in the late spring/early summer and involves clams and leeches bioaccumulating toxins from the water and sediments of Canagagigue Creek for only a three week period. After the three weeks the clams are removed and their tissues tested for the presence of DDT, Dioxins/Furans. The leeches are tested for chlorophenols only in their tissues. There are at least two problems that I see with this methodology and that is the short time span of only three weeks and the other is the time of year. I am beginning to see a pattern with both the downstream testing of soils and sediments for DDT and Dioxins as well as with this biomonitoring study of clams done in late spring. In other words if there is a spring scouring of sediments during high flow season (March/April) then most likely DDT and Dioxin/Furan presence is temporarily reduced. The fact that these toxins are most likely being moved downstream to be enjoyed by wildlife and humans on an annual basis is another issue that needs to be addressed.

As was mentioned in last Thursday's posting here; these toxins continue to leave the Chemtura site. It is recognized that they are leaving in reduced quantities from the past but that only is evidence that source removal is the way to go in addressing these issues versus decades more of questionable hydraulic containment. Chemtura and consultants have never been particularily forthcoming on the transport mechanisms of DDT and Dioxins. They have long argued that they can not flow in groundwater. The evidence does not fully support their position. CPAC need an honest, unbiased peer review around this report and numerous issues arising from it. As long as the Ontario M.O.E., Chemtura, Region of Waterloo and Woolwich Council think otherwise then it is clear that none of them are interested in the truth. They are still interested in short term politics versus the long term health of the environment and all living things in it.