BREDL & POOH list concerns with Air Monitoring Plan for BMWNC

BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE
Working to make our world better: One community at a time.


March 29, 1999

Mr. John Barry, Director
Department of Environmental Protection
700 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, North Carolina 28202-2236

Re: Ambient Air Monitoring Protocol for Matthews, NC

We are pleased that after almost 10 years of citizen concerns that Mecklenburg County is finally taking the initiative to monitor the air in the Matthews community.  However, we do not feel that the proposed sampling goes far enough to adequately evaluate the toxic exposures.

First, I would like to comment on the transference of the air permit of Bio-Medical to BMWNC.  If the transference has not already taken place, we ask that it be delayed until the results from the sampling are complete.  

In a letter to you dated March 16, 1999 BREDL informed you that we were contacting outside consultants on the proposed protocol and that more time was needed. We are very disappointed in MCDEP's refusal to extend the comment period.  We are asking again that the time frame be extended. 

BREDL is concerned about the short time frame that data will be gathered.  We would like to see the timeline extended.  We are requesting that sampling be done for at least a 6 month period for the following reasons:

HCL-acid gas testing can be very tricky. You have to be directly in the plume, have low wind speeds and steady wind. Otherwise, you won't find it. Under high moisture in the air, HCl could appear like a steam mist plume. But if the wind is shifting and more than 6-7 mph, you won't find much at ground level due to the wind conditions.

The drager tube tests will only work if you are standing in the HCl-acid gas plume, but if it shifts 10-15 degrees with a slight wind fluctuation, the HCl will be gone and the drager tubes will find ZERO!  If the person using the drager tubes has a lousy nose, they will never find the ground HCl plume from the MWI. The HCl plumes are not easy to find if they are low levels of less than 1 ppm, but nonetheless these low HCl levels can cause immediate adverse health effects to the residents who live nearby.

Another concern is the emissions of dioxins/furans that are substantially in excess of the federal standard. The average value of dioxins/furans for each unit was at least 10 times the federal standard.  The value for Unit #3 is more than 20 times the federal standard. Even though the standard is technically not yet in effect, people are still exposed to this amount of dioxin when the incinerator is in operation. These levels are clearly extraordinarily high and they clearly pose significant health risks to people downwind from the incinerator.  It is for those reasons that we adamantly request dioxin testing.  We understand that neither NCDAQ nor MCDEP have the capability to analyze for dioxin/furans.  Therefore, MCDEP should involve the federal EPA and collect an adequate sample during a long enough time to perform these tests.  To merely ignore the problem simply because state and county labs are unable to perform the required collection or analysis is unacceptable to the community.              

It is our impression that MCDEP considers dioxin/furans sampling cost prohibitive. Mecklenburg County should consider an ordinance that would include a user fee that would fund laboratory tests and compliance sampling and evaluation.  Failure to include dioxin/furans sampling and testing will lead to the opinion that MCDEP protocol was inconclusive by design.

In your letter to me dated March 18, 1999 you wrote, "We", MCDEP does not believe adequate information exists to support speculation on what, if any, human health effects might be associated with incinerator emissions. And for that reason, the County, would not monitor for dioxin. If that were true, why in 1990 did Congress revise the Clean Air Act to require EPA to write regulations limiting medical waste incinerator emissions? Nationally, medical waste incinerators (MWIs) are the second leading source of dioxin and the fourth leading source of mercury emissions.  Dioxin is a known human carcinogen, and has been linked to reproductive and developmental disorders and immune system damage.  Mercury is a neurotoxin which  interferes with the brain development of fetuses and infants.  Research confirms that there is no safe level of dioxins. Even parts per trillion levels in human bodies may trigger health effects.

The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League and Prisoners Of Our Homes formally  request that  Mecklenburg County adopt more stringent regulations than the minimum standards set down by EPA.

In the past, the county has cavalierly dismissed test results that exceed air permit standards.  If this continues, then what is the purpose of the testing? There is no reason, and certainly no justification, for ignoring test results. An example of MCDEP dismissing test results is as follows:

According to Stephen U. Lester, Science Director with the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, "The December testing at the BMWNC facility was very limited. Only one sample test was taken during each of three runs at Unit #2. Only mercury was analyzed in these samples. Nowhere is there any explanation for why the testing was limited to mercury in Unit#2. My best guess is that the mercury value for Unit #2 was the only test result from the earlier (May/August) testing that they could not dismiss. This test was taken during optimal operating conditions and the results are still at nearly 80% of the standard. Given that the incinerators will exceed the standard during start-up periods and during periods of maximum loading (the conditions during which the earlier testing was done), significant amounts of mercury will be released into the community from these three burners. In addition, the dioxins/furans levels exceeded the federal standard for all three units by at least 10 times."

Mr. Lester went on to write, "In conclusion, despite the statements by the Mecklenburg County DEP that the BMWNC facility is in full compliance with their air permit requirements, the emissions of dioxins and furans, hexavalent chromium, and cadmium still exceed the permit standards. The county has simply dismissed these violations with minimal or no justification. These emissions, combined with mercury emissions which exceed the air permit standard during start-up and during maximum loading periods, together result in significant releases of toxic chemicals into the surrounding community. These releases pose significant public health risks and should not be allowed to continue."

To adequately determine the health risks to citizens from BMWNC's stacks, the accumulation from past year's emissions must be determined.  To base compliance only on what these monitors show is not acceptable. Not only direct but also indirect exposure routes should also be examined.

We are requesting tests for mercury, dioxins and PCB's be done on fish within 50 kilometers of the stacks. Municipal, industrial and medical waste incinerators contribute 29 percent to the annual release of about 158 tons of mercury.

"If you pollute when you DO NOT KNOW if there is any safe dose, you are performing improper experimentation on people without their informed consent….If you pollute when you DO KNOW that there is no safe dose with respect to causing extra cases of deadly cancers, then you are committing premeditated random murder."  Physician and molecular biologist, John Gofman.

There is more than just citizen's health and environmental concerns at issue here.  There is also the reputation and trust of the public in MCDEP and the NCDENR to do their job, and do it right.

Respectfully,


Denise Lee, community organizer