Date: September 19, 2023
To: Jonathan Carney
Division of Air Quality
West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
601 57th St. SE
Charleston, WV 25304
Re: DuPont Specialty Products Comments
Permit number: R13-1849Q Facility ID: 107-00001
DuPont Specialty Products, USA, LLC; Washington Works Application for Permit Modification
https://dep.wv.gov/daq/permitting/Pages/NSR-Permit-Applications.aspx
Dear Mr. Carney:
This letter concerns the Washington Works facility in Washington, West Virginia, where the DuPont and Chemours Corporation manufactures plastics polymers from formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals. The facility is seeking a modification to increase its permitted emissions of health-harming air pollution.
Specifically, DuPont proposes to pollute the community surrounding its Wood County, WV acetal resin polymerization plant with additional carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and volatile organic compounds. Moms Clean Air Force West Virginia, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action, Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates, People Over Petro Coalition, West Virginia Citizen Action Group, West Virginia Environmental Council, and West Virginia Rivers urge the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to deny DuPont Washington Works’ permit request due to a long history of violating clean air and clean water laws; failure to utilize safer technologies; and the injustice of adding additional pollution to an already overburdened community, putting public health at risk.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is charged with deciding whether to grant DuPont’s requested permit modification. You have reached out to the public to provide comments on the air quality issues relevant to this determination. We appreciate this opportunity to share our observations. In the pages that follow, we will explain why WV DEP should reverse the recommendation cited in your Engineering Evaluation of July 17, 2023 and disallow the Modification of Permit R13-1849Q.
A HISTORY OF HARM AND DISHONESTY
This facility has a long history of pollution violations which have impacted the health of workers and community members.
DuPont Washington Works manufactured Teflon (made from the forever chemical PFOA, also known as C8) at this very facility beginning in 1951. Despite awareness of PFOA’s toxicity, and findings of blood- and kidney- cancers and reproductive harm in its employees, the Washington Works facility chose not to reduce its emissions nor to inform the public and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition to the heavy carcinogenic exposure to its workforce, the DuPont Washington Works facility released PFOA into local waterways, ultimately causing widespread contamination across the Ohio River Valley. The C8 Science Panel linked PFOA exposure to ulcerative colitis, pregnancy-induced hypertension, thyroid disease, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and other harms.
Given this backdrop, it may come as no surprise that our organizations and many residents of Wood County and beyond are troubled by this facility’s present plans and permit application. We recognize the serious consequences tied to these permits as DuPont-Chemours Washington Works seeks permission to increase its emissions of toxic pollutants into our air. The community has already suffered enough. We have analyzed the data and conclude that DuPont’s request is not acceptable.
REGULATORY OVERSIGHT TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
In your presentation of September 12, 2023, you stated that the WV DEP would issue a permit unless it determined that the proposed modification would violate an air emissions standard or would be inconsistent with the intent or purpose of West Virginia laws or Code. Like you said, those laws aim to protect human health and the environment. We contend that the proposed modification—allowing the company more petrochemical flaring and more toxic pollution in Wood County—is inconsistent with that intent.
It is a well-understood tactic for petrochemical facilities to expand their operations in a piecemeal fashion, inching up the emissions numbers little by little. Such a strategy of requesting permits for small modifications is a classic way that petrochemical companies expand their operations without public notice. This is precisely what is taking place at the DuPont-Chemours Washington Works facility.
DuPont’s permit application proposes to add a flare to burn off chemicals during upset events, and to increase the number of vapor releases allowed during periodic maintenance of the “capper jets.” WV DEP states that the following changes in potential emissions would be authorized by this permit action: Increase Carbon Monoxide, 0.34 tons per year (TPY); Increase Nitrogen Oxides, 0.11 TPY; Increase Particulate Matter 0.01 TPY; Increase Sulfur Dioxide, 0.01 TPY; Increase Volatile Organic Compounds, 0.63 TPY; Decrease Hexane, 0.02 TPY; Decrease Total Hazardous Air Pollutants, 0.04 TPY.
PETROCHEMICAL POLLUTION FROM THE WASHINGTON WORKS FACILITY
It is important to look at the bigger picture of what this plastics factory, DuPont Washington Works, and their spinoff company Chemours Washington Works, are emitting in Wood County and surrounding communities.
The EPA AirToxScreen Mapping Tool offers an initial glimpse into the large amount of toxic, flammable, and explosive chemicals in the air surrounding the DuPont Washington Works and Chemours Washington Works facility. We note that since both entities share the same physical location, the artificial divide between DuPont and Chemours is irrelevant.
AirToxScreen’s most recent data (2019) indicate, for example, that the combined DuPont and Chemours Washington Works facilities are emitting into the air:
- 6.5 tons of toluene per year
- 5.3 tons of methanol per year
- 7.8 tons of hydrogen fluoride per year
- 3.7 tons of formaldehyde per year
And many other toxic chemicals such as benzene, xylene, hydrochloric acid, hexane, cyanide, glycol ethers, lead, mercury, and biphenyl.
The Toxic Release Inventory offers a deeper dive into the chemicals released by the Washington Works facility, including such carcinogens as tetrafluoroethylene, formaldehyde, dichloromethane, and dioxin.
https://enviro.epa.gov/facts/tri/ef-facilities/#/Chemical/26180DPNTWDUPON
https://enviro.epa.gov/facts/tri/ef-facilities/#/Chemical/2618WCHMRS848DU
In total, the Toxics Release Inventory for 2022 for DuPont Polymer Products reports 11,847.99 lbs of air toxics emissions in 2022, with a majority constituting formaldehyde (7,037.80 lbs). The TRI air toxics emissions for 2022 for Chemours Company at the exact same location is 166,513.02 lbs. In other words, at this singular location the toxic air emissions total 178,361.01 lbs in 2022.
HEALTH EFFECTS
The following are examples of health effects from some of the harmful chemicals emitted by the Washington Works facility:
Hydrogen fluoride (HF) presents an extraordinary hazard to the community. HF vapor clouds can sicken or kill workers and residents for miles around. The Toxics Release Inventory for DuPont Washington Works does not include the current amounts of hydrogen fluoride released, but that data gap only tells us that the amount used is less than the reporting threshold of 25,000 lbs. The TRI data for Chemours Washington Works list 1,803 lbs released in stack emissions and 3 in fugitive emissions/leaks.
But the total combined amount from these intertwined companies polluting from the same location remains unclear. The 2019 figure from the EPA AirToxScreen translates to an annual release of 17,196.1 lbs of hydrogen fluoride.
It appears that the Washington Works facility continues to expose workers and Wood County residents to the extreme risks of hydrogen fluoride even though there are safer alternatives available that have been successfully implemented at other facilities.
Formaldehyde is a toxic, flammable gas and a VOC (volatile organic compound). It is classified as a known human carcinogen. This unequivocal assessment is based on evidence it can cause nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia. Any increase in formaldehyde emissions adds to the danger that residents are facing from the Washington Works facility.
The Toxics Release Inventory reports an estimated 7,037.80 lbs (DuPont) plus 1,161 lbs (Chemours) of formaldehyde emissions to the air in 2022. In total, more than 870 lbs were released in fugitive or non-point air emissions (leaks) and another 7,329 lbs in stack emissions.
Toluene is a carcinogenic, mutagenic, repro-toxic chemical. It is a likely teratogen, meaning that it causes malformation in the unborn fetus. It harms the female reproductive system and can cause pregnancy loss. It is associated with nerve damage, liver damage, and kidney damage.
Toluene may lead to degeneration of parts of the brain including the cerebellum and hippocampus.
The Toxics Release Inventory for 2022 records an estimated 345 lbs of toluene in fugitive or non-point air emissions in addition to 2,719 lbs (DuPont) and 12,896.5 lbs (Chemours) of toluene in stack emissions.
CUMULATIVE IMPACTS
While each toxic emission from the Washington Works facility is harmful, the cumulative effects of all these pollutants together may be far more damaging. And the communities in and surrounding Wood County are plagued by a heavy concentration of petrochemical polluters, including the Kraton Polymers facility, source of 1,3-butadiene, nickel compounds, and other toxic emissions, and the Orion Engineered Carbons facility with its large emissions of hydrogen cyanide and carbon disulfide. People who breathe the air in their neighborhoods face the cumulative risk from multiple simultaneous toxic pollution sources. We urge the WV DEP to coordinate with Ohio regulators to reduce the pollution burden on these already overburdened communities.
Examining the one-mile radius surrounding the Washington Works facility using the Environmental Justice Screen Supplemental Index, this location ranks in the 86th percent of the United States in terms of toxic releases to air, 82 percentile for proximity to Risk Management Facilities, and 82 percentile for wastewater discharge.
Wood County, in which the Washington Works Facility is located, ranks in the 96th percentile in the US for toxic releases to air; the 93rd for proximity to Risk Management Program industrial facilities; and the 84th percentile in wastewater discharge.
A HIGH-PRIORITY VIOLATOR
EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) database offers data on the extent to which industrial polluters are violating laws meant to protect public health and the environment. Due to its complex ownership structure as “DuPont” and as “Chemours,” the facility at 8480 Dupont Road in Washington, West Virginia has three separate entries under different names. For those who must live and work around the Washington Works facility, including the children whose lungs and other organs are still developing, this corporate ownership status makes little difference. Re-naming parts of an industrial polluter must not be used as a way to shield these companies from responsibility.
The Washington Works facility, under the name of Chemours, has been a Clean Air Act High Priority Violator for the past four quarters. Its “high priority” air pollution violations involve chlorine, mercury, total hazardous air pollutants (HAPS), carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds (VOCS), visible emissions, particulate matter < 10 UM, total particulate matter, hydrochloric acid, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide.
The facility also has ongoing “Significant Violations” under the Clean Water Act, including the past 12 quarters in Significant Noncompliance (every single quarter for the past 3 years).
The Washington Works facility has had 7 formal enforcement actions over the past 5 years. In addition, the facility has recent RCRA (waste) violations.
This is not a facility that the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection should be rewarding with additional capacity to pollute. We are urging the WV DEP to require the Washington Works facility to desist from violating federal air pollution laws, not to increase the allowable emissions.
PLANS TO POLLUTE MORE IN WOOD COUNTY
The Chemours/DuPont facility proposes to add an additional flare to burn off chemicals during upset events, and to increase the number of vapor releases allowed during periodic maintenance of its “capper jets.” Instead of polluting more, we recommend that the Washington Works facility take steps to actually protect people from its dangerous and harmful operations. Rather than flaring more, as they propose in their permit modification, the facility could upgrade their flare efficiency, and—even better—could commit to almost entirely flare-free operations.
Chemours/DuPont uses flares and “jets” for routine management of waste gases, resulting in significant emissions of formaldehyde and other pollutants. Most flares cannot be readily monitored to verify their emissions. Flares also produce additional highly-toxic pollutants as an unavoidable result of the often poor and variable combustion in the open flames. Far from protecting the public as Chemours/DuPont suggests, flaring is itself a source of significant pollution. Open flaring for routine waste gases simply needs to stop. Since flares are so highly polluting, flares should only be used in true emergency situations, and only as a last resort.
More efficient controls such as thermal oxidizers are already used at some facilities in place of flaring. There are far better techniques for routine management of waste gases, including vapor recovery systems coupled with waste gas storage systems.
In addition, the Washington Works facility could dramatically upgrade its leak detection and repair technology, for example by implementing leakless or low-leak valves, optical gas imaging, or leak detection sensor networks. It could commit to discontinue use of startup, shutdown, and malfunction loopholes. And it could implement robust fenceline monitoring as called for in the EPA proposed rule for synthetic organic chemical plants and for polymers and resins facilities.
The Washington Works facility is on the EPA list for coverage by the new Chemical Manufacturing Rules. The 200 facilities covered by these proposed standards are among the most polluting industrial plants in the nation.
Instead of acknowledging the need to better protect the health of people in the community, the facility is already pushing back on the EPA proposal. DuPont and Chemours seem to insist that they can harm Wood County as much as they please.
As reported in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on May 8, 2023:
Chemours said the rule wouldn’t apply to operating units at its Washington Works site. The company cited state Department of Environmental Protection-issued operating air permits for the Washington Works site that shield it from certain federal regulations, including some that apply to synthetic organic chemical manufacturers.
Chemours spokesperson Lisa Randall said the company’s initial review indicated the rule would apply to a DuPont site at Washington Works.
DuPont spokesperson Daniel Turner said DuPont is reviewing the proposed rule to determine if there would be “any potential impact to our operations at the site.”
DuPont/Chemours Washington Works is a known serial violator of air and water pollution laws in Wood County. Communities surrounding this facility deserve to live with less pollution, not more. We urge the WV DEP to protect children and families across West Virginia from the dangerous cumulative air pollution impacts from this facility.
Please deny the Modification of Permit R13-1849Q. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Lucia Valentine, Moms Clean Air Force West Virginia
Eric Engle, Board President, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action
Frank Rocchio, Founder, Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates (OVEA)
Cheryl Johncox, Regional Coordinator, People Over Petro Coalition
Gary Zuckett, West Virginia Citizen Action Group
Linda Frame, West Virginia Environmental Council
Angie Rosser, Executive Director, West Virginia Rivers
Cynthia Palmer, JD, MPH, Senior Analyst, Petrochemicals, Moms Clean Air Force