Poisoning Marion County for Profit: Brooks slated for yet more airborne toxics

Air Pollution Smoke Stack (Photo credit: EnvironmentBlog)Hey Marion County Neighbors!

Don't you just love the smell of burning plastics in the morning?

Feeling like the air near Salem is just too darn breathable? Wouldn't you rather breathe in tons and tons of hazardous pollutants and see particulate toxins enter the foodchain right here in the heart of the Willamette Valley by landing on produce and fields and in streams?

Then you're in luck! Agilyx Corp. wants to satisfy your craving for more pollution for you!

They're proposing to build a plastic trash burner up in Brooks, already the epicenter of air-quality insults in Marion County. In other words, they propose to dump millions of tons of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere over the project lifetime, while spreading a fine dust of toxic particulates and hydrochloric acid all over! What nice neighbors, eh? Oh, and they don't plan to pay anything for using our sky and our precious world-class farmland as their free toxics dumpsite.

And don't worry about the PVC -- they say they're going to screen out the PVC wastes first, since PVC combustion releases incredibly toxic and nasty products. And we all know that mistakes never happen when plowing through tons and tons of waste garbage that all pretty much looks the same and arrives in truckloads!

Here's the abbreviated notice. (pdf)

What does Agilyx Corporation do that affects air quality?

The company proposes to construct and operate a pyrolysis energy reclamation facility. They will produce a synthetic crude-oil like product from plastic feedstock. The feedstock will consist of plastics not feasible for recycling. The feedstock must be pre-screened to remove polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics. The oil product will be sold to off-site customers.

The proposed operations will emit Particulate Matter (PM), Fine Particulate Matter (PM10/2.5), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2),Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Greenhouse Gases (GHG), and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) to the air. Additional detailed information regarding operations and emissions can be found in the review report.

Table 1
Criteria Pollutant Proposed Emission Limit (tons/yr)
Particulate Matter (PM) 24
Fine Particulate Matter (PM10) 14
Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 9
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) 39
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) 39
Carbon Monoxide (CO) 99
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) 39
Greenhouse Gases (GHG) 74,000 (67,100 metric tons)

Table 2
Hazardous Air Pollutants Proposed Emission Limit* (tons/yr)
Individual HAP (HCl) 9
Combined HAPs 24

*HAP PSELs are being established to ensure the source remains a minor source of HAPs pending further emission factor verification analyses.

For more on the criteria pollutants, see http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/forms/annrpt.htm

Comments due: Written comments due: 5 p.m. September 5, 2012

Where can I send my comments?

Patty Hamman, Regional Permit Coordinator
(503) 378-5305 or Toll Free (800) 349-7677
750 Front Street NE, Suite 120
Salem, OR 97301-1039
(503) 378-4196 (Fax)
hamman.patricia@deq.state.or.us

Where can I get technical information?

Karen White-Fallon, Permit Writer
(503) 378-5315 or (800) 349-7677
750 Front Street NE, Suite 120
Salem, OR 97301-1039
(503) 378-4196 (Fax)
white-fallon.karen@deq.state.or.us

Where can I get background information?
Information about this project is viewable online by clicking the following link(s):
• Permit (pdf)
• Evaluation Report (pdf)