TDEC Discounts US Nitrogen Complaints

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials are discounting reports of possible explosions last month at US Nitrogen's Midway manufacturing facility.
In an email dated today Ronald B. Wilhoit, an inspector for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, told one Midway resident that loud noises heard on Oct. 4 were likely the result of a high pressure steam valve that released "a handful of times" that day.
Citing information provided by US Nitrogen's plant manager, Ronald Velo, Wilhoit wrote that those releases were "likely the noise that people reported hearing."
Wilhoit said US Nitrogen did acknowledge there was "a component failure" causing the nitric acid plant to "trip" on that day.
Wilhoit said in an email to the local resident that he also checked the company's continuous emission monitoring data at the nitric acid plant for the day in question and "there were no violations of their short term emission limits for nitrogen oxides."
Similar responses have been issued by TDEC to other area residents over the past few weeks.