SAFETY-KLEEN STINKS UP BRESLAU

Well back in the 1970s, 1980s or early 90s this wouldn't even have been news. I've long thought that development for the new residential subdivisions in Breslau didn't get started until well after Breslube/safety-Kleen had stopped fumigating the entire town with their acrid, petroleum odours. I have enquired on a couple of occasions as to how the smell is in recent years. About four or five years back a colleague suggested that sporadically there were still some odours leaving the property. That plus occasional trips I've taken to the Waterloo Regional Airport have been O.K. with only noticeable odours very close to Safety-Kleen on a couple of occasions.

Yesterday's article therefore in the Woolwich Observer titled "Escaped gas during maintenance at Safety-Kleen plant prompts multiple odour complaints in Breslau", was only slightly a surprise. The description of the odours was both petroleum odours and a "very strong odour of natural gas or sulphur". Interestingly just like the history of odours here in Elmira, the company responsible were not initially helpful in accepting responsibility for the stink. Advising the fire department that they were shut down for maintenance, true or otherwise, is essentially the same as saying "It's not us, look elsewhere", which is what the fire department had to do.

The Ontario Ministry of Environment investigated and as usual are full of reassurances to all residents affected. These reassurances include Safety-Kleen being required to report in advance to various authorities when they are planning on doing future maintenance activities. Also preventative measures will be put in place to avoid future odours during these activities.

For the record odours absolutely equal exposure to toxic contaminants. Odours are not simply a nuisance. They are also a health issue and a quality of life issue. We've been through all the heavy duty bull.... here in Elmira with Uniroyal (now Lanxess) telling residents that the odours are harmless when they are not. They disguise their lies with crap about points of impingement and the one specific identifiable smell being below the concentration criteria over a ten minute or thirty minute or even one hour time frame. It's all verbal diarrhea mixed in with psuedo scientific mumbo jumbo. If you can smell it (and even if you can't sometimes) you are being exposed and there is nothing at Safety-Kleen that is good for your health.