RAC - Remediation Advisory Committee - Yeah right!
You decide if the following is a 1 out of 10 or a 9 out of 10 in significance. Sandy as Chair introduced Agenda Item 5. "HHERA Updates - Lanxess" and she couldn't advise what HHERA stood for. Yes I was offended because 1) I already believe she's ignorant and uninformed and 2) come on this HHERA (Human Health & Ecological Risk Assessment has been on the Agenda constantly for the last two to three years.
Ramin Ansari of Lanxess advised that Lanxess and GHD are still waiting on the commercial laboratory for the soil and earthworm results from the samples taken early in the fall. These allegedly are to provide clarity as to maybe the extent of dioxin/furans and DDT being uptaken biologically from the site. Seems to me to be "busy" work to help cover up more important data gaps elsewhere.
Regarding the 2028 groundwater cleanup deadline Ramin again advised that it won't be met and that he did not know when it would be. He suggested that the issue wasn't discussed much in 2022 with the focus being on the HHERA. He agreed that options for dealing with the deadline need to be discussed and Tiffany had thrown out the possibility of what she referred to as REDOX. I believe that may be a chemical/heat reaction involving removing oxygen hence breaking down various contaminants. Dioxins/furans come to mind as my understanding is that dioxins have two oxygen molecules and furans one. Tiffany or Ramin also mentioned that Dr Jackson (1st TAG Chair) had discussed In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) as a form of source removal although neither mentioned his serious criticism of the efforts of Chemtura /CRA with that effort..
Briefly swinging back to Lanxess not meeting the on-site Target groundwater pumping rates my notes indicate that Ramin said that if you "...relax off-site then on-site can be reduced as well." That is different from the conversation he and I had later when he was talking and agreeing that total off-site pumping was actually a little higher than it had been historically for many years.
Ramin also made it clear that Lanxess currently believe that on-site pumping will be ongoing "in perpetuity." I guess my concern is how much on-site pumping. For example pumping and treating one or two litres per second from the Municipal Aquifer on site ten years from now will simply end up splitting the otherwise full migration of contaminated groundwater such that a portion moves off-site, downgradient untreated and another portion is contained, treated and discharged into the Canagagigue Creek.
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