"TOWERING INFERNO"

The June 2004 explosion and fire at Uniroyal/Chemtura was one of the more visible, violent and scary episodes at a company and location which has lurched from crisis to crisis. All these crises have not just been about their third world waste disposal practices. They have a long and never ending history of fires, explosions, spills and fugitive air releases into the community. Of course they and our local authorities have always falsely claimed that there's never been a release that could have or did harm any human beings.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Record carried stories on June 12 & 14, 2004 describing the explosion and fire that sent a huge black cloud over Elmira. I and my brother were west of town on our way back from a walk at the Woolwich Dam when we spotted the moving cloud. The Woolwich Observer (June 14/2004) and the Elmira Independent (June 18/2004) also carried stories on the crisis. The Record later on suggested that the cause was still somewhat ambiguous. Both the Fire Marshall's office as well as the TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) were called in. Susan Bryant was quoted as saying "That plant shouldn't be there. We've known that for a very long time.".

On June 23, 2004 our local paper carried the following headline "Remediation principles get nod from Council". There was indeed discussion at CPAC in regards to principles and there was a lot of pressure on individual CPAC members to go along with these principles. At the time I thought they were as a substitute for the strongly unpopular "Optimization" Plan put forward by Conestoga Rovers on behalf of Uniroyal/Crompton. In hindsight I've wondered if in fact it was a behind the scenes bait and switch. In other words as Crompton already had the June 21, 2000 Amended Control Order were these Principles used as a pretend authorization/acceptance for the very quiet and contemptible June 2000 Amended Control Order?

In June 11, 2004 Julie Sawyer wrote in the Elmira Independent that an agreement was reached between Crompton, Nutrite and the Ontario M.O.E. regarding Ammonia contamination in the Municipal drinking water aquifer. Three weeks of Environmental Appeal Board hearings were cancelled after the agreement was reached. Susan Bryant is quoted as saying "It's bloody well time, that's how I feel.". Indeed Nutrite played hardball as exactly as Uniroyal has from day one, hiding behind process and legal manoeuvering whenever possible rather than own up to their public responsibilities.

Gail Martin in the same Independent edition wrote an article on sport fish in the Canagagigue Creek. The Ontario M.O.E. were actually suggesting that PCBs in the fish might be related to caulking that the Grand River Conservation Authority used in the Woolwich Dam. My personal opinion on that one is that as usual the M.O.E. are full of poo poo del toro.

The K-W Record in their June 25, 2004 edition suggested that bad wiring might have caused the earlier explosion and fire in the waste water treatment system. In hindsight I'm wondering about migrating methane gas in this area from the M2 landfill buried beneath these buildings. Of course Crompton/M.O.E. would never admit to such a thing as it would necessitate major expense at all the former landfills within the Elmira town limits. Bob Burtt wrote in the August 20, 2004 edition of the record that the Ontario M.O.E. laid a new Control Order on Crompton regarding both the June fire plus 212 spills they'd had over the past five years. It required a comprehensive document stating in detail what caused the fire and how to avoid it in the future. The previously mentioned "spills" included past Crompton air emissions.

In September Crompton had a new boss namely Ron Lackner. While he put a softer voice on Crompton's dealings I didn't see any thing but superficial changes in their dealings with the public.