Has something new occurred? Have our authorities (Woolwich, Waterloo Region, MECP) in their infinite and never ending thirst to share knowledge with the public, released something? Well no, not exactly. Here's what we have however. About a year and a half ago (Sept. 2024) after a TRAC meeting in which Alan Deal of GHD, on behalf of Lanxess Canada, mostly falsely denied a relationship between Varnicolor Chemical and DNAPLS (Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquids); the Minutes of the meeting were finally released. Lo and behold in writing was the decades late, astounding revelation that the 84 Howard Ave. site was responsible for six different chlorinated solvents (not chlorobenzene) in the Elmira drinking water aquifers. Now 84 Howard Ave. is simply the newer address of the former Varnicolor Chemical site which encompassed both the Union St. properties and the Howard Ave. property. Hallelujah !
Skipping to the third revelation also from a TRAC meeting back in September 2025 we have admissions from a consultant (Jesse Wrighte/Arcadis) that there were multiple companies and locations using chlorobenzene (chlorinated solvent) near the corner of Union St. and First Ave. Again this revelation was approximately 35 years after the fact which included an alleged Five man team from the Ministry of Environment which toured Elmira looking for industries which could have contributed to the shutdown of the south wellfield in Elmira.
This third revelation likely was to explain again a decades late proven fact that there was free phase DNAPL at OW57-32 (R) beside the Howard St. Water Tower. I had long suggested that this chorobenzene came from one of three sources namely Varnicolor, Borg Textiles or all the way from Uniroyal Chemical. None of my suggested sources however were politically correct for the liars and stakeholders in charge of the cleanup. Nevertheless again in the Minutes of the Alan Deal TRAC meeting of September 2024 which he attended is the second revelation that the DNAPL near pumping well W4 and the Howard Ave. Water Tower was finally dissipated/dissolved and allegedly thus reducing it's contamination of nearby groundwater.
Since then I have reviewed both newspaper articles and most importantly photos of the extent of the contamination from Varnicolor Chemical at both their 62 Union St./Howard Ave. location as well as from Lot 91 at the east end of Oriole Parkway. The photographs of the remediation of the 62 Union St. / Howard Ave. property are interesting especially in hindsight. These photos plus the 2016 Risk Assessment of the site by Peritus Environmental further combined with the now long admitted failure of the Elmira groundwater cleanup spell out an interesting hypothesis.
There were both LNAPLS (Light Non Aqueous Phase Liquids) and DNAPLS on the Varnicolor site. There was a calculated and concerted illegal dumping operation underway at both the Union St. site AND at Lot 91. Initially the Min. of Environment only laid paperwork pollution charges against Varnicolor. It took the local media's clamoring to get those upgraded to actual pollution of the natural environment charges and later convictions. I suggest that Varnicolor Chemical whose cleanup has not been followed by citizens or activists or the media may well be the elephant in the room which has exacerbated the difficulties in cleaning the Elmira Aquifers, especially by pump & treat technology mostly on it's own. In fact the remediation tidbits that we do have (i.e. a shallow aquifer pump & treat system only) actually point to a grossly inadequate cleanup considering the volume, the depth and the characteristics and components of the liquid wastes dumped at the site over decades.
In order to protect the Min. of Environment (M.O.E./MECP) from further embarrassment, humiliation and public contempt the province of Ontario denied and covered up the extent of gross contamination at Varnicolor Chemical, the second largest polluter in Elmira, with Nutrite/Yara the third (ammonia).
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