[All] DDT at 2, 900 x MOE allowable concentration found 50 metres south of Chemtura plant

[Susan Koswan]

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/5790768-ddt-found-in-elmira-s-canagagigu
e-creek/

 


DDT found in Elmira's Canagagigue Creek 


Waterloo Region Record 

By Paige Desmond
<http://www.therecord.com/waterlooregion-author/paige-desmond/f828a210-82ed-
4865-af51-f278c97a49c2>  

ELMIRA - A citizen committee charged with overseeing the cleanup of polluted
groundwater in Elmira says alarming levels of the dangerous pesticide DDT
have been found in the Canagagigue Creek. 

"The whole issue is that we found it offsite, across a private property and
that's really the whole issue that I think people are dancing around here is
offsite contamination," said committee member Graham Chevreau. 

Lab tests commissioned by the committee show levels of DDT up to 2,900 times
the Ministry of Environment's maximum allowable concentration standards
about 50 metres south of the Chemtura plant. 

The group says its testing shows contamination is migrating off the Chemtura
site. 

Mayor Sandy Shantz said she is trying to get more information on what the
results mean. 

"There's not a need for people to panic about the creek," Shantz said. "We
are going to followup and we will find out just exactly what it means that
these levels were found there." 

Previous ministry testing near the Chemtura site in the past few years did
record DDT in the sediment. However the latest tests, conducted in June,
show much higher levels of that chemical as well as dioxin, which was used
in the production of Agent Orange. 

>From 1945 to 1948, Uniroyal Chemical, now Chemtura, produced up to 300,000
pounds of DDT per year. 

At that time, the committee says, two gravel pits were used to collect
stormwater run-off containing DDT and other chemicals. 

Uniroyal was contracted to produce Agent Orange for the U.S. government in
1960. It contained the toxic chemical dioxin which was also detected in the
committee's tests. 

In 1989, township wells were closed when cancer-causing chemical NDMA got
into the water system from Uniroyal. 

Water is now pumped to Woolwich through a pipeline from Waterloo. 

The ministry ordered water cleaned up by 2028, a target officials said in
2014 wasn't on track. 

The Chemtura Public Advisory Committee is made up of a group of citizens
that has studied the township's polluted groundwater since 2010. 

They have warned for years that contamination from Chemtura is migrating off
site and not being captured by the pump-and-treat system in place to clean
up the groundwater. 

The company has been aware of DDT contamination for several years, Chemtura
representative Jeff Merriman said in correspondence to council that's part
of Tuesday's Woolwich council meeting package. 

"Chemtura is keenly aware of the presence of contaminants in the Canagagigue
Creek to the south of our property," Merriman said. 

He said the company conducted four successful cleanup efforts on the
Chemtura site. 

The committee has asked council to demand the ministry conduct more tests at
the south boundary of the Chemtura property to show chemicals are leaking
offsite and ensure that is stopped. 

"My gut feeling is you're going to be finding the same kinds of chemicals on
site that you find offsite," Chevreau said. 

Chemtura is completing a work plan that includes sampling, groundwater, soil
and test pits. The plan was submitted to the ministry in January and is
expected to be finished in September, Merriman said. 

In his correspondence to council, Merriman said no further direction is
needed on cleanup efforts. 

"Chemtura will take appropriate action to address any impacts to the
environment, based on the findings of this study," Merriman said. 

pdesmond at therecord.com , Twitter: @DesmondRecord

 

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