CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER STILL ON STROH FARM

 Fifty years after the end of dumping into Uniroyal Chemical's east side pits we have solvents and pesticides in groundwater as much as 29 metres  below surface on the neighbouring (east side) Stroh farm.  While there are likely many more contaminants, three were sampled for and detected namely NDMA, 2, 4, 6- Trichlorophenol and 2, 4-Dichlorophenol. Some of these contaminants have been measured as far as 250 metres to the east of the Lanxess/Stroh boundary line. The monitoring wells involved  (OW190, OW189, OW190) are not up or down gradient of groundwater flow but in fact cross-gradient which is very strange and totally unexplained by Lanxess, GHD or the Ministry (MECP).              ...................................................................................                                                                                        I am of course referring to the recently released Revised East Side Groundwater Report.   Sebastian and Dustin were the two biggest critics at Last Thursday's TAG meeting. Sebastian advised that in his opinion the report was still incomplete despite the author Alan Deal's (GHD) contrary opinion. Sebastian pointed out that absolutely zero wells had been drilled and sampled in the bottom (south) third of the Stroh property and hence a huge area had not in fact had it's groundwater delineated. This unsampled area includes the Stroh Drain area which then flows southward through the Martin farm where it is called Martin Creek. Dustin also stated that  GHD had failed to fully delineate the site as well although his criticism was based more on the failure of vertical delineation rather than lateral (horizontal). My criticism at this meeting, unstated by mandate/fiat of two Woolwich councillors, was that likely the vast majority of contamination from Uniroyal Chemical on the Stroh farm  was the result of overland gravity flow not via groundwater.                                                                                                                                                      ...........................................................                                                                                                                As bad as groundwater sampling has been on the Stroh and Martin property, it is soil sampling that is the most egregious and Lanxess self-serving.  Soil sampling that is as in there being little or none. There is zero done by GHD, Lanxess or the MECP on the southern third of the property as well as none other than along Lanxess's eastern border (i.e. Stroh's western border). It is a travesty. Soil sampling is much more likely to detect DDT and dioxins/furans as those chemicals are somewhat hydrophobic and they prefer to partition onto soil. Hence these chemicals are likely still available for remobilization via serious flooding which will take some of them into the Canagagigue Creek.