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Local Companies Among Top Polluters in Michigan
By Jeff Kart
Some of the state's biggest polluters are right here in Northeast Michigan, according to newly analyzed government data.
The Consumers Energy Karn/Weadock power plant in Hampton Township ranks third in the Top 100 for total releases to air and water.
For releases of recognized carcinogens to the air, Georgia-Pacific Corp. in Gaylord, which makes particle board, is No. 2, and Dow Chemical Co. in Midland is No. 4.
The rankings are based on Toxic Release Inventory data submitted by companies to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A Washington, D.C., advocacy group called Environmental Defense recently analyzed the numbers, providing new details on the hazards associated with the releases.
None of the releases are unlawful, but there's room for improvement, said John Balbus, health program director for Environmental Defense.
Balbus said his group has been spotlighting the country's top polluters for a number of years to increase public awareness about "legal pollution" and encourage companies to clean up their act.
"There's still a lot of releases to the air that people be concerned about," Balbus said.
"By making this information available to people, it leads to reductions. Just being ranked and having somebody talk about the ranking provides sufficient incentives for facilities to reduce their emissions."
The Consumers plant released almost 4.3 million pounds of pollutants to the air and water in 2002, according to the most recent data available.
Environmental Defense ranks the local power plant among the dirtiest facilities in the United States, based on the types of pollutants emitted and the risks they pose to human health.
Chromium compounds from the plant are ranked as a top cancer risk.
Long-term exposure to chromium, a metal, can cause lung cancer and severe respiratory problems, according to the EPA.
The plant released 1,905 pounds of chromium compounds to the air and 1,400 pounds of chromium compounds to the water in 2002.
Kelly Farr, local Consumers spokesman, said his plant is ranked high on the list mainly because it's one of the state's largest producers of electricity.
Farr said the EPA doesn't regulate chromium from electric utilities because it's not deemed to be a public health concern.
Farr said most of the coal-fired power plant's releases are from waste ash, which is disposed of in licensed landfills.
"Those numbers look large to the average person, but if it's not in a concentration that can hurt people, then it's not a public health concern," he said.
Farr said the plant has been reducing emissions of regulated pollutants for years, and recently finished a $120 million project that has cut nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 80 percent since 2002.
Georgia-Pacific and Dow Chemical also are ranked among the country's dirtiest facilities.
For Georgia-Pacific, formaldehyde is listed as a top cancer risk. The plant released 89,189 pounds of the pollutant to the air in 2002. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause irritation of the skin, eyes, nose and throat.
James Malone, a company spokesman in Atlanta, Ga., said the numbers are misleading.
Malone said the process of making composite wood panels releases formaldehyde, which naturally occurs in wood, and the amounts released by the Gaylord plant are well within state and federal guidelines.
For Dow Chemical, the analysis spotlights 41 pounds of hexachlorobenzene emitted by the company.
Hexachlorobenzene, once widely used as a pesticide, is formed as a byproduct of chemical production and can cause liver disease, according to federal agencies.
A Dow Chemical spokeswoman could not be reached for comment Monday.
Under the Toxic Release Inventory program, facilities must report releases of more than 650 toxic chemicals each year to the EPA. About 6,000 companies report the data.