Elmira and West Hill
Elmira
LANXESS Canada Co/Cie
25 Erb Street
Elmira, ON, N3B 2J3
Phone: 519-669-1671
Our Elmira plant is a state-of-the-art production facility that manufactures synthetic lubricants and additives for lubricants, plastics and rubber. We have a comprehensive wastewater treatment system that processes wastewater generated from our production and a groundwater treatment system to remove contaminants left by previous companies that occupied the site. The Elmira site is also home to a pilot plant used by our scientists and engineers to develop and test new products and production processes.
Key facts:
- We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Our hourly employees are represented by the United Steelworkers Union.
- The facility has earned ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management standards.
Township of Woolwich CAER Group
LANXESS is a member of the Township of Woolwich Community Awareness and Emergency Response (CAER) group. This partnership between industry and government promotes community safety and aims to reduce the risks to health, safety and the environment within the region. CAER provides community education and is an effective response system in the event of an emergency.
Emergency Planning and Preparedness - Woolwich Township
Technical Remediation Advisory Committee (TRAC)
The Technical Remediation Advisory Committee (TRAC), a committee of the Township of Woolwich, was formed “to ensure the appropriate review of legacy environmental issues … with LANXESS and its predecessors.”
TRAC is comprised of community members and other stakeholders, such as the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and itself. Learn more at Committees of Council - Woolwich Township.
Giving Back to the Community
Over the years, the Elmira facility has supported national, provincial and local organizations and developed partnerships within the community to benefit Elmira residents. We’ve partnered with area schools and universities to provide hands-on learning experience and spur interest in careers related to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), sponsoring programs like the Elmira District Secondary School’s FIRST Robotics program.
We are well equipped to deal with various types of on- and off-site emergencies.
Prepared For Any Emergency
Our Emergency Response Plan outlines the response procedures to be taken, should an emergency occur. The plan is regularly reviewed and updated and shared with the local first responders, as well as various municipal, regional and provincial agencies.
A critical piece of the Emergency Response Plan is our on-site fire brigade, staffed by employee volunteers who are on call 24 hours a day. This on-site fire brigade maintains an emergency response/command vehicle, spill response trailer and a foam/water apparatus. Close connections are maintained with the Township of Woolwich (Elmira) Fire Department and with other members of the Waterloo Region Mutual Aid Association.
What You Should Do in an Emergency
The Township of Woolwich maintains an emergency siren system that warns residents of severe weather, gas leaks, transportation accidents and chemical releases.
A test of the sirens in Elmira is conducted on Saturdays at Noon.
If you hear the siren outside of the test time, please remain inside your home or office. The Alert Waterloo Region (AlertWR) system (https://www.alertwr.ca/en/index.aspx) will, in some cases, also provide a message with information and instructions to residents about the emergency.
Community Alert Network (CAN) provides a message with information and instructions to residents about the emergency. Through the CAN system you may be asked to complete the following:
- Close all windows, outside doors and every door inside the building
- Seal cracks around doorways with tape and a rolled damp towel at the floor space
- Turn off air conditioners, furnaces, fireplaces and hot water heaters
- Stay tuned to local radio stations: AM 570, FM 96.7, FM 105.3 or Southwestern Ontario TV
- Keep your phone lines
(From the Emergency Preparedness Handbook - Township of Woolwich, see more here)
https://www.woolwich.ca/learn-about/fire-services-and-emergency-management/emergency-management
At the LANXESS Elmira site, remediation cleanup activities are ongoing for legacy environmental matters which occurred years ago when there were different regulatory requirements, and virtually no emphasis on sustainability, like we have today. Since the 2017 acquisition of Chemtura, LANXESS has been dedicated to environmental improvement efforts at the Elmira site, and we are proud of the progress made. We are committed to ensure this important work continues in full accordance with all regulatory requirements.
Our environmental legacy
Between 1942 and the late 1960s, predecessor companies to LANXESS supported the Canadian and United States governments' war efforts through the manufacture of a number of different chemical products. Manufacturing these and other products, along with historical waste disposal practices that are no longer permissible by today’s standards, created environmental impacts to soil, creek sediment, and groundwater both on and off-site.
The extent of this environmental legacy became evident in the early 1990s when it was discovered that n nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) was present in the underground aquifers supplying Elmira’s drinking water, forcing municipal water supply wells to close.
Continued investigations in the late 1990s and early 2000s identified the presence of environmental impacts in creek soil along some areas of the plant’s west creek bank and from historic disposal areas on the east side of the creek.
Over the past three decades, tens of millions of dollars have been spent on remediating this inherited environmental legacy. Through the input and efforts of the community and the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), significant achievements towards a cleaner and healthier environment have been made. LANXESS looks forward to working together with all stakeholders to continue this progress.
Information about the environmental performance of our site can be found at the National Pollutant Release Inventory. The National Pollutant Release Inventory (https://pollution-waste.canada.ca/national-release-inventory/) (NPRI) allows Canadian residents to access “detailed information on pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals and transfers for recycling reported by facilities to the NPRI.”
From the NPRI site, search for “LANXESS” to find our site’s reports for every year we have reported to NPRI.
West Hill
565 Coronation Drive
ON M1E 2K3 West Hill
Phone: 416-284-1661
Our West Hill plant began operations in 1962 and houses offices, a research and development laboratory and a finished goods warehouse. Today, around 70 employees work here.
The facility has earned ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management standards.
We believe in an open dialogue with the communities in which we live and work. And we understand that providing information to neighbors and gathering feedback from area stakeholders about our operations is a must.
West Hill Community Advisory Panel
The West Hill Community Advisory Panel (CAP) is made up of members of the local community and industry, including the City of Toronto’s nearby water filtration and waste water treatment facilities. The purpose of the CAP is to discuss current and potential future concerns regarding the operations of the member facilities, and to provide information to the broader community about these risks and the efforts to reduce them.
Toronto East CAER Association
We are a founding member of the Toronto East CAER (Community Awareness & Emergency Response) Association. Since its formation in 1988 Toronto East CAER has grown to include chemical manufacturing companies and local government agencies such as fire, police, water filtration, wastewater treatment and emergency in the east part of Toronto.
Toronto East CAER also
- maintains and operates an emergency siren system used to warn residents of an emergency at any one of the association members’ facilities
- hosts annual public meetings to update stakeholders about events and changes at their facilities and give residents the opportunity to raise concerns and get feedback
We are well equipped to deal with various types of on- and off-site emergencies.
Prepared For Any Emergency
Our Emergency Response Plan outlines the response procedures to be taken, should an emergency occur. The plan is regularly reviewed and updated and shared with the local first responders, as well as various municipal, regional and provincial agencies.
What You Should Do in an Emergency
As a member of Toronto East CAER (Community Awareness & Emergency Response) Association, LANXESS works with other companies, first responders and the municipality to ensure that local residents understand what to do in an emergency.
Toronto East CAER maintains an emergency warning system. If the Community Siren system is activated, it is important for residents to know how to Shelter-in-Place.
Town Siren
This siren system can be activated by any of the CAER (Community Awareness & Emergency Response) members in the former West Hill area.
The siren system is tested several times throughout the year.
If the community siren system is activated it is recommend to follow these steps:
- Go inside. Close all windows and doors
- Turn off air intake/exhaust mechanisms (fans, furnaces, air conditioning)
- Stay tuned to news radio or television stations for information and instructions
- Stay tuned to local radio stations CFRB 1010 am, CFTR 680 am and Global TV, CITY TV and CFTO TV
If you witness/detect what you believe to be a chemical emergency situation, please take the following steps:
- Move inside your home; and
- Call 911 and provide the operator with the exact location and nature of the emergency.
For more from Toronto East CAER, please visit https://www.facebook.com/TorontoEastCAER
From the NPRI site, search for “LANXESS” to find our site’s reports for every year we have reported to NPRI.