Three Chemicals Exceed Limits at USN

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Storm water runoff from the US Nitrogen site in Greene County exceeded benchmarks for three different pollutants, with one exceeding that limit by a factor of 12, according to a report filed today with Tennessee officials.
The report, required on an annual basis by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, showed the excesses were recorded at two different monitoring sites in the sprawling US Nitrogen complex. The chemicals identified were magnesium, nitrogen and aluminum.
The report dated Thursday marks the third year in a row that benchmark levels have been exceeded by the chemical manufacturing company.
In a letter accompanying the report, US Nitrogen Plant Manager Andrew Velo said the cause of the excesses was not known but "we suspect the source of the magnesium and aluminum detected in the storm water samples is from concentrations and/or form water flowing across rock."
He also noted that one of the monitoring sites was located in a "non-process area of the facility" that gets runoff from maintenance buildings.
The report states that magnesium levels at one of the monitoring points was 7.91 milligrams per liter compared to the benchmark of 0.0636 milligrams per liter.
Nitrogen and nitrite concentrations were reported at 1.33 milligrams per liter compared to the benchmark concentration of 0.68 milligrams per liter.
Aluminum levels were 3.58 milligrams per liter compared to the 0.75 milligrams per liter benchmark.
Velo stated that concentrations exceeding the benchmark level have been recorded elsewhere in the area in the Nolichucky River and other surface waters.
He also stated that nitrogen was present in fertilizer used on the company site "to encourage vegetative growth and prevent soil erosion."
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