Nolichucky Thallium Levels 3Xs Drinking H2O Limit

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The thallium levels in water discharged from the US Nitrogen LLC plant in eastern Tennessee to the Nolichucky River were more than three times the maximum level for drinking water, according to the state Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).
A TDEC spokeswoman, Kim Schofinski, said the wastewater discharged from the Midway plant to the Nolichucky contained 10.3 parts per billion of thallium. That is more than three times the maximum contaminant level for thallium in drinking water.
Though the river is the source of drinking water for the region, Schofinski said tests conducted thus
far on drinking water in the area have not detected the presence of thallium, a chemical that in some forms and concentrations can cause serious illness and even death.
"TDEC will be conducting our own sampling out of an abundance of caution," Schofinski wrote in an email response to question.
Schofinski said data provided thus far has not made it possible for the agency to determine the thalium concentration of river water when it is first pumped from the river by US Nitrogen.
"While the data collected by US Nitrogen and submitted to TDEC may indicate the presence of thallium at the intake, it is not possible from the data provided to determine at what concentration," Schofinski stated.
The chemical company pumps millions of gallons of water per week from the river and uses most but not all of it in the production of ammonium nitrate and other products. Under a permit from the state the company gets the water free of charge.
Although the TDEC spokeswoman said reliable data was not available on the level of thallium in the water when first pumped from the river, other sources said data showed the level of thallium contamination increased substantially from the time of intake to discharge back into the river.
US Nitrogen officials have stated that the water used in the production of ammonium nitrate does not contain any thallium.
"The US Nitrogen facility does not use thallium or substances containing thallium as a component of any manufacturing processes," Kim Ryans, a US Nitrogen environmental specialist, wrote in an email response to questions."The water sampled and discharged to the Nolichucky River does not come into direct contact with US Nitrogen’s processes," she added.
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