AMMONIA, NDMA, CHLOROBENZENE IN ELMIRA AQUIFERS FROM NUTRITE, UNIROYAL & BORG TEXTILES???

Well even years after I understood the magnitude of the deception surrounding the 1989 Elmira Water Crisis, I did not think that I would be writing that above title here in the Elmira Advocate. It took approximately eleven years (1989-2000) for the public to understand that Nutrite who produced fertilizers had contributed large quantities of Ammonia to our municipal drinking water aquifers. This lack of knowledge was in large part due to the sweetheart deal given to Uniroyal Chemical from the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE). In exchange for Uniroyal assuming 100% of the responsibility for the contamination of Elmira's aquifers, the company was to have significant help (50%) from the taxpayers to clean up those drinking water aquifers. The Ontario MOE of course got off the hook and was able to avoid admitting that there were multiple polluters in Elmira who had contaminated our aquifers. Multiple polluters who did so under the noses of the MOE for decades. ........................................................................................... Uniroyal accepted 100% of the blame/responsibility for NDMA in the aquifers but even that is suspect. My vote goes to Varnicolor Chemical despite the MOE manipulating groundwater testing in order to avoid so proving. There was evidence produced at the Environmental Appeal Board (EAB) of exogenous production of NDMA under the correct conditions. Those conditions existed at Varnicolor Chemical including acidic soils courtesy of a tanker leak of sulphuric acid into Varnicolor's backyard. Also the precurser, dimethylamine, was dumped into the soils on site. While it is possible that only the small concentrations of NDMA found on site were legitimate, exogenous production downgradient was eminently possible but an intentional lack of both shallow and deep soil sampling avoided the proof of it. ............................................................................................... Chlorobenzene and Borg Texxtiles? Hmm. Yes Borg had their own dye shop. Yes they as a textile manufacturer certainly should have been very carefully examined but just like Varnicolor Chemical (early on) were intentionally not. Their location is why they are suspect as free phase DNAPLS were found across Howard Ave. just north of them and near the Elmira water tower. Specifically well OW57-32. Chlorobenzene concentrations in the early days exceeded 1% of the solubility of chlorobenzene indicating free phase DNAPL's presence. Also other evidence from OW57-32 indicated chlorobenzene in the free phase form being present. Both Dr. Neil Thompson (U. of Waterloo) and Ramin Ansari of Lanxess believe that there is another chlorobenzene source in Elmira. Now if Borg Textile didn't do it then the onus goes back on Varnicolor Chemical located across Howard Ave. from them. For this to be true then the Ontario MOE likely fudged the lab reports showing a lack of chlorobenzene in Varnicolor's shallow aquifer. That alone is worthy of a public inquiry.