ELMIRA'S TOXIC TIME BOMB

Wednesday'a Waterloo Region Record had a powerful Editorial by the Record titled "Toxic time bomb must be defused". It raises a number of perplexing issues. Firstly if only the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (M.O.E.) spent half as much time solving environmental problems as they do in framing/defining them. This Editorial unknowingly repeats the M.O.E.'s nonsense that there are but two hot spots requiring attention along the creek. This is completely false and is an intentional result of the M.O.E.'s sampling locations in the creek. Dr. Dick Jackson, the Chair of TAG, has emphasized this with his call for a full and complete assessment of the creek. Sampling a five mile stretch of creek from Chemtura down to the Grand River in all of three or four locations is ludicrous as the M.O.E. have done.

The M.O.E.'s biases and self-serving belief in minimizing environmental problems is demonstrated by both their opposition to installing warning signs along the creek combined with their equally ludicrous conclusions in advance of their own proposed Risk Assessment; that there is negligible human health risk from Dioxins/DDT in the creek.

The Record's Editorial at least twice refers to the strange timing as to why only now Woolwich Township are calling on the federal government to help clean up the creek. This is indeed a very good question. Is it solely the efforts of Dr. Dick Jackson who to date has been an incredibly informative light leading the TAG committee? Woolwich Council's unethical and dishonest behaviour in forming TAG over the, intentionally by Council, battered and bruised body of the committee (CPAC) appointed by Council's predecessors, was way beyond abusive bullying. It is currently under formal, internal Township review which I agree is bizarre. However if they do their usual gamesmanship and wordsmithing to make it all go away, it will end up right back in the Ontario Ombudsman's lap. They are aware of this and may explain their recent more respectful attitude and behaviour towards myself. Obviously while I agree with approaching the feds again as Dr. Henry Regier did twelve years ago, I certainly have good reason to suspect the Township's motives.

The comparison between Canada's involvement with Agent Orange remediation in Vietnam versus their turning a blind eye to Elmira is a valid one. This environmental travesty and injustice has been paid for in ill health and pain by members of our community despite long held political objections to a health study as long ago proposed by Dr. Rosalie Berthell. This health study even today might expose some shocking health facts of the families downstream from Chemtura Canada, along the Canagagigue Creek. Similarily I would expect that the union representing Chemtura's workers would also welcome a health study of their members exposure to Dioxins/DDT on site as well as the everyday exposures they face on site via inhalation of various solvents.