ENVIRONMENTAL CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST

"...staff have historically observed low level impacts in some residential wells downgradient from the former landfill." This is in a recent memo from the Region of Waterloo Waste Management Division and is refering to the former Woolwich Landfill site just north of Elmira. The memo further states "Although the impacts are not an immediate health concern, staff have taken a conservative approach and replaced one residential well in 2012." The memo goes on to advise that two more off-site private drinking wells are being replaced in 2014 due to "...low level contamination...".

Really gives you a warm feeling doesn't it knowing that staff are conservative in their approach to poison in other people's wells? Also the fact that they have been monitoring not an advancing plume of industrial poison but impacts already in their wells. By the way this former landfill is appropraitely located on Seiling Rd. in Woolwich Township and yes it is named after you know who's family.

The sole chemical allegedly found in the drinking wells is 1,1 DCA otherwise known as 1,1 Dichloroethane. The memo claims that there is no Ontario Drinking Water Standard for DCA. Well actually there is although it's for 1,2 DCA. The chlorine molecule is slightly shifted in position from 1,1 DCA. The standard for 1,2 DCA is 5 parts per billion (ppb). DCA is a breakdown product of TCA or Trichloroethane. As is not unusual the breakdown products are more toxic than the original. Other chemicals are leaching from this site including trichloroethylene (TCE). It's breakdown products include Dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride among others. Vinyl chloride is significantly more toxic than its' parent TCE. Funny there is no mention of vinyl chloride levels.

The amazing coincidences just keep on coming. Both TCA and TCE are groundwater contaminants on at least two sites in Elmira namely Uniroyal/Chemtura and Varnicolor Chemical. Both of these sites cheerfully dumped their toxic wastes both on and off-site untreated. This included multiple "municipal" landfill sites whether legally or illegally such as First St. Landfill, Bolender Landfill and the Ottawa Landfill in Kitchener. The Woolwich Landfill is all of what, three miles north of Elmira? The concentrations of these contaminants and especially their breakdown products in Elmira are hundreds if not thousands of times higher than drinking water standards. Oh and finally this information has been available to the Region of Waterloo since the mid 1980's. I sure am glad that they are so "conservative" in their approach to the health and safety of local residents a few miles from Elmira.