First Chemical starts PFOA project, opponents outraged

There are more than 7 million PFAS and over 21 million fluorinated compounds listed in PubChem (2023).
Post Reply
pfpcnews
Posts: 997
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:50 am

First Chemical starts PFOA project, opponents outraged

Post by pfpcnews »

First Chemical starts PFOA project, opponents outraged

The Mississippi Press - September 20, 2006

By BRAD CROCKER

PASCAGOULA -- DuPont's First Chemical plant in Pascagoula began a new controversial processing project Tuesday, which the company said will improve the quality of fluorotelomer alcohol, which is used to produce surface protection products.

Citizens and environmental groups have tried to halt the project's startup because of the controversy surrounding perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, a byproduct of the process.

The company is receiving by truck the telomer alcohol from a DuPont plant in New Jersey and running it through a newly-developed manufacturing process using what company officials call safety and environmental management systems equipment that will chemically destroy the PFOA.

"The construction and startup of this $20 million project was made possible by a dedicated and hardworking team of First Chemical and contract employees," plant manager James Freeman said in a press release Tuesday. "I want to thank each and every one of them for their contributions to this very important project."

Emissions of PFOA from the plant are expected to be two pounds of PFOA per year or less, Freeman said, and said the manufacturing process operates in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations, as well as all permitting and regulatory requirements.

But Louie Miller, state director for the Mississippi Sierra Club, was outraged that the company began the process, adding that DuPont is circumventing the Sierra Club's appeal of the water emissions permit granted by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, as well as hundreds of citizens who convinced the Pascagoula City Council and Jackson County Board of Supervisors to gather additional scientific data on PFOA and hold a public hearing.

"For (DuPont) to proceed is basically putting a buck above everything else," Miller said. No one is enamored with this project -- citizens, the City Council or supervisors and this just adds insult to injury. This is arrogance."

DuPont, which purchased First Chemical in 2002, is working to reduce levels of PFOA in processes and products, Freeman said, adding that the company is honoring its commitment made to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the levels of PFOA in surface protection products.

That agreement, opponents argue, relates to the $16.5 million settlement DuPont paid last December in connection with administrative cover-ups related to information on PFOA's effects.

Company officials said Tuesday a major part of the project startup is that First Chemical, pursuant to comments from MDEQ, will also commit to implement voluntary reporting and independent testing for the fluorotelomer manufacturing project at Pascagoula.

Data measuring the concentrations of PFOA in wastewater emissions from the site will be collected based on a predefined plan and shared with the MDEQ, the press release said. FCC officials believe voluntary reporting and independent testing will provide useful information related to the project.

Referring to the $65,000 settlement First Chemical agreed to pay last week for violations it reported recently related to issues after Hurricane Katrina, Miller said the company's reporting and monitoring procedures are flawed and cannot be trusted.

The MDEQ has not set emission limits for PFOA into the water system, and the DEQ's permit board is still reviewing the air emissions permit.

Ocean Springs attorney Robert Wiygul, who is assisting the Sierra Club with its appeal, said Tuesday that the company is "using the citizens of Pascagoula as test subjects."

Wiygul said the decision to move forward with the project is not surprising and "par for the course" in how DuPont operates elsewhere "because nobody has established what safe levels are out there."

SOURCE:
http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississipp ... 266730.xml
Post Reply