A 13 acre site, smaller than Uniroyal Chemical's in Elmira. A small amount of total DDT buried at sea but still millions of pounds. Toxic wildlife effects fourty plus years later. We are advised that chlorobenzene is one of the main components of DDT production. This site (Montrose Chemical) has been a SUPERFUND site for decades. Lawsuits were filed against it by both state and federal governments. Approximately $140 million spent to date on environmental issues. The site is riddled with DNAPLS (chlorobenzene). One of the remediation methods specific to DNAPL removal is known as ERH or Electrical Resistance Heating. Aecom Engineering & Consulting had provided a cleanup plan with parts of the site being cleaned within 32 to 50 years and other parts between 3,700 and 5,800 years! The EPA and other authorities rejected those cleanup plans as not timely.
Note Woolwich Township: Various California authorities strongly condemned cleanup plans as "grossly inadequate", " absurd", "fatally flawed", "unrealistic", "short sighted", "inaccurate" etc. They were not subtle nor were they particularly polite when being given either misinformation or the runaround. I propose that symposiums and seminars be held to assist municipalities in dealing with recalcitrant polluters. They could be titled " 10 Step Process To Remove the Inherent Deferential, Uninformed and Unequal Balance of Power between multi national, multi billion dollar corporations and their local municipal councils."
We at CPAC back in the 1990s and early 2000s were told that DDT and dioxins (2,3,7,8 TCDD) were both insoluble and immobile in water. We responded that Uniroyal's groundwater however was filled with solvents which could mobilize many allegedly insoluble compounds including DDT and dioxins. Well guess what? These on-line technical reports concerning the Montrose Chemical cleanup specifically state that DDT is soluble in chlorobenzene. In fact it's solubility is high with about 74 g of DDT dissolving in only a 100 ml. of chlorobenzene. Further statements indicate that chlorobenzene contaminated groundwater along with DDT in it, will eventually cause the DDT to precipitate out. ". "If this occurs, DDT may be a mobile toxic contaminant in the aquifer." . Funny how none of this has ever been explained to past UPAC/CPAC members or to the public. I guess consultants to polluters do not feel duty bound to share information that is distressing to their polluting clients.
Despite Allan Deal's (GHD) ridiculous statements and comments to TRAC this fall, CHLOROBENZENE IS DNAPL. It is the presence of both free phase and residual chlorobenzene DNAPL that has estimates of 3,700-5,800 years for cleanup by Aecom. Personally I've been aware that DNAPL in the subsurface can take decades to centuries to fully dissolve but these estimates even shock me. What has also shocked me is the wanton disrespect for the truth about chlorobenzene/DNAPLS that so many here in Elmira have embraced including our hopeless Ministry of the Environment (MECP).
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