US Nitrogen Files Nolichucky Report

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen has reported to state environmental officials that it pumped some 10.48 million gallons of water from the Nolichucky River during the month of December and discharged nearly 6.2 million back into the waterway.
The report, required under one of the chemical company's permits, shows that on six days during the month, some 700,000 gallons of water were drawn from the river. The discharge and uptake occur at milemarker 20.8 on the river in Greene County.
The December report shows a sharp drop from November when some 18.6 million gallons were drawn from the river.
The report comes following the chemical company's disclosure that the water being discharged to the river contains thallium a chemical that in some forms can be poisonous and even fatal. But the company says that it was not the source of the thallium and thallium is not used in any of its processes to produce ammonium nitrate.
"We cannot speak to background concentrations upstream of the intake point," Kim Ryans of US Nitrogen wrote in response to questions.
The report filed this week shows that on 13 days during December the company did not discharge any water into the river. On four December days it discharged more than 500,000 into the river.The total discharged was slightly lower than the 6.2 million discharged in November.
US Nitrogen pumps water from the river through a 10 mile pipeline running from the river to the company's Midway manufacturing facilities. The pipelines run along two state highways under a permit issued by the state Department of Transportation.
The pipeline and the permit prompted years of litigation by local landowners who only recently reached a settlement.
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A Greene County chemical company has disclosed to state officials that the waste water it has been pumping into the Nolichucky River contains a chemical that in some forms can be highly toxic and deadly to humans, but the company says it is not the source of the chemical.
The mandatory report on primary toxic pollutants was filed recently by US Nitrogen LLC with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. US Nitrogen Plant Manager Dylan Charles submitted the report which is required under one of the company's permits.
According to that report one of the chemicals US Nitrogen believes is present in the waste water pumped from its Midway facility to the Nolichucky River is thallium, an element that has been used in rat poison and insecticides.
"Thallium can affect your nervous system, lung, heart, liver, and kidney if large amounts are eaten or drunk for short periods of time,"according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention "Temporary hair loss, vomiting, and diarrhea can also occur and death may result after exposure to large amounts of thallium for short periods," the agency description continues.
The company draws millions of gallons per week from the river, treats it and then uses it in the manufacture of ammonium nitrate and other chemicals. Excess is then pumped back into the river."
An environmental and laboratory specialist at US Nitrogen said in an email that US Nitrogen does not use thallium in its manufacturing process.
"The US Nitrogen facility does not use thallium or substances containing thallium as a component of any manufacturing processes," Kim Ryans 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.
Asked about the source of the thallium, Ryans wrote,"We cannot speak to background concentrations upstream of the intake point."
Other chemicals listed on the US Nitrogen report included 5V. Bromoform, 8V choridibromoethane and 12V. dichlorobromomethane.
Bromoform is described as an organic toxic pollutant.
Still other chemicals listed as "believed present" in the report include sulfate, barium, molybdenum and manganese.
Ryans said that bromoform, chlorodibromomethane, and dichlorobromomethane are byproducts created by the use of bleach and bromine which are used as a disinfectant in the water treatment process of the incoming river water.
She said the river water is treated to minimize algae and biological growth.
"This disinfection process is a common treatment practice for municipal drinking water," she added noting that they are from a chemical family commonly used in low concentrations in the treatment of drinking water.
She said the level of those chemicals in the water tested was significantly lower than the maximum contaminant level established by the EPA for drinking water.
"The disinfection byproducts pose no threat to human health and the environment at these concentrations," Ryans said.
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