LITTLE KNOWN FACTS REGARDING OPPOSITION TO UNIROYAL/LANXESS ALLEGED CLEANUP EFFORTS

 I have recently been reviewing this Blog as well as Minutes of RAC and TAG both during the time period of September 2015 until December 2016. This of course coincides with the Chairmanship of TAG by Dr. Richard Jackson. The criticism of the Ontario Ministry of Environment from both Dr. Jackson as well as by TAG members was extensive and at times even harsh. This ended as soon as Dr. Jackson's time as Chair ended by his resignation. He pointedly advised that the issues for cleanup success were intractable and that they were not remotely technical issues but instead were public policy issues. In other words bureaucrats and politicians simply were too willing to let the talking go on forever without actual serious remediation being undertaken. This remediation or lack thereof included relying solely on Pump & Treat technology for the Elmira Aquifers and never ending studies of the Canagagigue Creek including the then proposed Risk Assessment of the Creek. Both he and TAG passed a Motion advising that a Risk Assessment was highly unlikely to produce a cleanup of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Creek.

Dr. Jackson strongly condemned the so called leadership of the Ministry (MECP) for numerous failures including their refusal to follow federal mandates for sampling and monitoring suspended sediments in the Creek. They also far too easily swallowed Uniroyal/Chemtura's nonsense as to why In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) would not be a viable and applicable form of remediation here. Thirdly somehow the MECP failed to find /notice or target a coarse, basal gravel unit at the bottom of the Municipal Aquifer. This coarse gravel unit was a preferential pathway for contaminated groundwater that should have been targeted with pumping wells to speed up the groundwater cleanup but was not done. 

All in all Dr. Jackson found the Ministry's efforts in Elmira appalling and likened them to their failures in Grassy Narrows to remove mercury and help restore the English-Wabigoon River system. He strongly advised that any Risk Assessment be done by the known experts on dioxin contamination namely Hatfield consultants. As Dr. Jackson stated he would believe their research and work but pretty much would have no confidence in any such work under the supervision of the Ontario Ministry of Environment.