We must all remember that emissions are not harmless. Most being non-natural, they are toxic to both human, wildlife and fauna, affecting air quality, soil health and water quality. Their effects can last many decades or even longer. The common gas C02 can last in the atmosphere for centuries. Sulfur dioxide will only last about two years before being washed into the soil and water (causing serious issues with trees, plants and wildlife).
Smelters operate on a principle of "allowable emissions" and are generally sited where emissions will be far enough away from human habitation to disperse their daily dose of toxicity. There are two points to remember because they are important - a) they all emit toxic emissions; b) they are usually sited where there is limited human population.
The intended site of Newport, Washington for the silicon smelter places the smelter directly above the town of Newport and Old Town, Idaho (the site is on the State line). Immediately adjacent to the site is the Pend Oreille River Valley (northwest) and the long arm of Pend Oreille Lake (east). Downwind from the proposed site are numerous communities, including Usk, the Kalispel Reservation, Cusick, Ione, and Metaline Falls. Thousands of residents live throughout these areas alone. In fact, the majority of the Pend Oreille County population will be found in these towns.
The other downwind communities to the east are in Idaho, including Old Town, Priest River, Laclede and Sandpoint. Sandpoint is populated by thousands more and is the fastest growing town in Idaho. There are also many outlying areas nearby, Sagle, Cocollala, Athol, Spirit Lake and Blanchard. Back in Washington, there are many more residents that can be affected in Diamond Lake, Sacheen Lake, and Elk.
All of these communities are within wind dispersal patterns of the chosen smelter locations. Wind speed, direction and variability of this area does not preclude toxic emissions from entering into the homes, business and lungs of residents anywhere within these areas.
The complete disregard for the health, well-being and safety of both Pend Oreille and Bonner County residents has raised significant alarms throughout these communities and now borders on criminality. The number of potentially affected persons is over 60,000 total residents, with an even higher number when including the high levels of seasonal tourism that swells the population of these towns.
Keeping in mind that this is just two counties, which does not at all fully represent the total number of people who will be impacted. That would by necessity, need to include a far larger dispersal region of hundreds of miles, encompassing hundreds of thousands more people throughout a 350 mile circumference from the site location (chosen because of the air quality dispersion measurements being used).
The sheer number of potentially affected persons is extremely large, encompassing over 500,000 persons in this circumference, and may actually exceed 1 million persons (depending on size of circumference used). The actual square miles to be affected (soil, water, air quality) is also extremely large, 96,000 to 384,000 square miles (using 175 miles to 350 miles circumference for estimates, the same as the claimed "wind dispersion measurements").
Dispersal of emissions is dependent upon quantity, wind patterns, local weather effects (inversions), particulate size and other effects. So far, we have failed to see accurate data regarding the proposed emissions and we must turn to other sources for current estimates.
Silicon smelter supporters have consistently chosen to grossly underestimate the toxic emissions issues. Many have simply chosen to totally ignore the problem, as if it does not exist. But we know with absolute certainty that it does indeed exist and we can find some of the actual numbers we are looking for from other silicon smelter plants.
The Burnsville, Mississipi silicon smelter plant applied for a "Application for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Air Permit" which is exactly what HiTest will need to apply for. This type of permit is required by law because of excessive emissions.
Within this overall permit process, is The Best Available Control Technology Evaluation Process (BACT), a method by which industrial polluters will seek to gain approvals to construct and operate environmentally hazardous operations.
A careful analysis of this process reveals significant loopholes and allowances to ignore economically "infeasible" controls that are technologically challenging or cost-prohibitive. The BACT analysis does not provide for full protection of human or environmental health at all - rather, it finds a method by which permitting will be approved through established steps. This is accomplished through a series of steps and examinations of emissions and their estimate amounts, with special allowances provided for economically infeasible controls.
In other words - it's really a sham, a legalistic process required by law to give the appearance of only authorizing allegedly environmentally safe operations. In no way does this mean that emissions from smelters are eliminated or in some cases of emissions as you will see, even controlled at all. They are in fact still there and "approved" to specified limits allowed by the permit.
This has been noted elsewhere in the public literature, for example on the nitrous oxide emissions related to gas turbines:
"The BACT analysis associated with permitting a new electric generating unit is a technology assessment process that does not deal with the accuracy and reliability of emission measurements. Permit limits are then set as specific numbers with no error margin. There is the implicit assumption that the emission measurements can be made with no error and this is not the case. It is fair to say that the entire BACT analysis and permit limit setting process is seriously flawed with regards to low emitting sources equipped with CEMS. The process will lead to permit limits that the source has no probability of meeting on a continuous basis. In turn, there will be enforcement action and plenty of it." http://www.rmb-consulting.com/san/lownox.htmDespite the appearance of officially recognized standards and approval methodology, the BACT has in fact allowed for numerous toxic industries to gain approvals, resulting in hundreds of millions of tons of emissions being dumped into the environment, affecting human health all over the country.
Yet even knowing this, let it be clear that this process still remains in effect, thereby disguising and saddling project like the proposed silicon smelter in Newport with its requirements and allowances.
Many residents and officials will be fooled "by the process" being undertaken, wrongly assuming that this must somehow be "safe", but they could not be more wrong. This is nothing more the a legalistic sham to authorize toxic industries to operate at assumed limits. It does not monitor those limits. It does not set safe standards for those limits. So far, in my research, there is a decided lack of monitoring taking place with a great many unknowns on exactly what is being dumped into the atmosphere (only a handful of emissions are actually being measured). But what we do know - and have documented, is scary enough.
So despite the process being followed - the end result is still the same as if no process was followed at all. Permits get approved anyway, communities suffer and people get sick and die.
This is why and how (partly) so many toxic industries have been "permitted" to flourish, even though they have had the appearance of "safety". There is much more to it then this, but this demonstrates why there are now over 420 chemical compounds found within every human being (anywhere on the planet). These have accumulated and accrued over time in our air, soil, water and food, many are carcinogenic and are now found throughout the entire food chain everywhere on the planet, resulting in numerous diseases and health problems and countless deaths number in the millions.
This isn't the entire explanation, but a short primer on how pollutive industries can gain authorization within the permit process under the illusion of safety - and why so many people are sick with debilitating disease and experience shortened lifespans and suffering.
The Burnsville silicon plant in Mississippi utilizes 4 submerged arc furnaces (SAF) (which is what is ultimately planned for Newport, starting with 2 SAF's), utilizing coal, wood, quartz and limestone (essentially identical to the Newport proposal). Emissions from the plant come from:
• Material handling and transfer to and from coal, wood and quartz storage piles;
• Storage yard for coal, wood and quartz storage piles;
• Raw material day bins to support the semi-enclosed submerged arc furnaces;
• Wood chipper;
• Casting frames;
• Raw material day bins with supporting baghouse(s);
• Four (4) semi-enclosed submerged arc furnaces (SAF) with four (4) baghouses;
• Four (4) natural gas-fired ladle pre-heaters
• Product refining operations with supporting baghouse(s).
The following plant-wide operations and activities will have the potential to emit regulated air pollutants:
• Tank farm;
• Fugitive emissions from roadways;
• Slag handling;
• Silica fume silos;
• Grinding, milling and handling;
• Facility-wide miscellaneous operations; and
• Emergency generator
Like Newport, they proposed a phased construction, 2 SAF and then 2 more SAF, for a total of 4. Burnsville proposed using a total of four 300 foot stacks (chimneys) at 15 feet in diameters each.
Using their own words:
"Collectively, these process areas will have the potential to emit major levels of regulated air pollutants and, therefore, will be subject to the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) regulations of the United States Environmental Protection Agency ( USEPA)" and State requirements.Allegedly -
"Appropriate air pollutant emission controls/techniques to minimize potential emissions of regulated air pollutants, appropriate measurements, testing and recording of operational parameters will be performed to confirm that the plant’s major source levels of regulated air pollutant emissions are being achieved."
As you can see, the emissions expected were very significant, representing a huge increase in local area toxic emissions. But as it turns out, air emissions are not well regulated or measured.
Despite this large numbers, the Burnsville smelter claimed that "the plant will have no adverse impact on human health and welfare."
Earlier documentation of silicon smelter operations shows that these emissions are actually hazardous to human health and the larger environment, and despite the state-of-the art techniques and practices utilized, they continue to be released in significant quantities into the atmosphere.
Key "buzzwords" are used to attempt to describe how they will work, such as "reduce" (page 1-4), "control" and "filter" and "minimize", but at no time does it state that these toxic emissions are eliminated - because they are not.
They are in fact, dumped into the environment, and at levels that are hazardous to human health and the environment.
It has now been reported that HiTest has no intentions to regulate any of the emissions from the two giant chimney stacks proposed. This should deeply alarm everyone in the region.
End Part I
