ABUSE OF THE RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Abuse of each and every process, safeguard and system evolved ostensibly to aid human beings in their battle with pollution is the hallmark of the truly dedicated sociopathic polluter. Risk Assessment seems to be a local favourite here in Woolwich Township and Elmira. Right now we have a different M.O.E. idiot attending what for years was known as UPAC or CPAC (ie. Uniroyal/Chemtura Public Advisory Committee). She was publicly musing last week whether or not a Risk Assessment of the downstream Canagagigue Creek was a good idea. I would suggest that the environment would be better served via decision making determined by tea leaves or a Ouija Board. At least there would be less inherent bias in that process.

Over a decade ago Chemtura did a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) and an Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA) on their Elmira site. The final result was that their site is risky for omnivorous shrews tunneling in their soil as well as to trespassers walking on their site. Really? No biomagnification results for predators of shrews such as hawks, foxes or raccoons. No adverse affects for workers on the site 40 hours per week or more. Just for us naughty environmental trespassers. Pardon me if I think their SSRA was a crock of crap.

Dr. Henry Regier (Biology) was one of the best informed, professional skeptics after he did additional research into the SSRA. This included extra discussions and communications with M.O.E. staff who were supposedly overseeing/monitoring Chemtura's SSRA. It turns out that the M.O.E. staff involved were out of their depth and missed important aspects of the SSRA process. It is afterall a complicated process in order to dissuade us laypersons from becoming too critical.

The net result is that the downstream Canagagigue Creek is contaminated with DDT and Dioxins/Furans in excess of provincial and federal standards. This will cost Chemtura big bucks to clean up. It is much cheaper for them to razzledazzle the public with highly credentialed and willing to help (for big $$$$) professionals who love to speak publicly about themselves, their accomplishments, their credentials, their hairdo (?) and how poisons are all about the dose because gosh darn even cancer drugs themselves are carcinogenic didn't you know.

This is not serving either the public or the environment. It is serving the bottom line of the corporation (Chemtura) and the tattered and frayed credibility of the M.O.E. in that they can claim they really haven't failed us yet again by ignoring both the farm on Chemtura's east side and the downstream Canagagigue Creek.