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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Report: Thallium in Nolichucky Water

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

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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TDEC Fines US Nitrogen $1,500

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials have imposed a $1,500 fine on US Nitrogen for installing and or operating a multimillion gallon ammonia storage facility without obtaining a required permit.
In an eight-page notice issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Air Pollution Control Director Michelle W. Owenby, said that the storage facility was actually constructed in mid-2016 but only became known to the agency during an inspector's visit to the Midway operation early this year.
The notice states that under state law and regulations the company could be fined up to $25,000 per day for the violation.
Owenby cited a series of permits issued to US Nitrogen by TDEC dating back to July 14, 2011.
Specifically the notice charges the company with "constructing/operating an air contaminant source prior to applying for and receiving the required permits."
According to the notice the company only filed a permit application on May 14 of this year following the inspector's visit. The application listed potential annual emissions of 23.3 tons per year. TDEC issued a formal notice of violation on June 29.
The notice states that the company can file an appeal and request a hearing.
The TDEC notice is not the only regulatory incident involving the Greene County firm in recently. In a recent consent agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the company agreed to pay a $27,377 penalty for failing to protect against the accidental release of hazardous materials.
The ammonium nitrate manufacturer also recently sought to shift blame for another environmental violation to a third party, but the effort was rebuffed by TDEC.
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US Nitrogen Gets Permit Waiver

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials have approved a petition filed by US Nitrogen to classify a new emergency backup generator on its Greene County site as an insignificant pollution source thus exempting the equipment from requiring a permit.
In a one-page letter sent this week to Dylan Charles, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said it agreed with the company that a more thorough review process was not required.
The chemical company had requested the "insignificant source" classification in a letter sent to TDEC earlier this month.
According to Charles letter the generator will be installed in US Nitrogen's security building located in Midway. Charles said in the letter that the generator would release less than five tons of air contaminants per year and that it would run on propane.
"It has been determined that the emergency generator for the security building described in you application would constitute an "insignificant activity" or insignificant emissions unit," James P. Johnston of TDEC wrote in the letter.
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USN Magnesium Levels Top Standards

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The level of magnesium detected in storm water runoff at US Nitrogen's sprawling Greene County site exceeded benchmark levels by a factor of 200 and also nearly doubled the amount reported a year ago, according to data submitted to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
In an annual report submitted this week by US Nitrogen, the company reported the benchmark levels of magnesium were exceeded at two monitoring sites on the company's Midway location.
Similar results have been reported in prior years and a company official said in a letter to TDEC that US Nitrogen's industrial activities "do not utilize material with notable levels of magnesium."
Dylan Charles of US Nitrogen wrote that the company continues to believe the above normal readings "are from background concentrations and/or from water flowing across rock."
He stated that excess levels of magnesium have been detected in water samples collected from the Nolichucky River and other surface waters in the area.
At one monitoring site magnesium levels in storm water runoff were 10.7 milligrams per liter and they reached 14.9 milligrams per liter at a second site. The benchmark level is .0636 milligrams per liter, according to US Nitrogen's submission.
Last year the highest level of magnesium was 7.91 milligrams per liter
He said one of the two sites with excess readings is located in an area where no manufacturing takes place. That area receives runoff from a parking lot, the letter states.
He also noted that portions of the storm water runoff on the site "are conveyed through a series of rock lined channels."
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US Nitrogen Water Use Jumps

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The amount of water drawn by US Nitrogen from the Nolichucky River jumped in November with more than a million gallons drawn on six separate days.
The totals for withdrawal from the river and the amount pumped back into the Nolichucky were included in a report filed today with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
In a related development TDEC has renewed for two years a permit granted to Yara North America to produce calcium carbonate on the same Midway site with US Nitrogen. The permit was extended to Dec. 3, 2020.
The US Nitrogen report states that a total of 18.6 million gallons were pumped from the river during the month while 6.9 million was pumped back into the river. US Nitrogen uses the river water to produce ammonium nitrate.
In the last report the company reported pumping 11.6 million gallons from the river and discharging 5.7 million back in to the river,
That product is then used by US Nitrogen's parent, Austin Powder, to manufacture explosives.
While more than 1 million gallons were taken on six days, the company pumped minimal amounts on five days.
On nine days the company pumped no water back into the river. The highest discharge daily amounts were slightly above 500,000 gallons and that occurred on four days.
The water is pumped through two 12 mile pipelines from the Midway plant to the Nolichucky. US Nitrogen recently settled suits by landowners who charged that the state permit for the pipeline was illegal and that US Nitrogen improperly placed the pipeline on private property.

Greene County Firm Fined

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

A Greene County firm has been fined $4,500 by Tennessee environmental officials for failing to maintain and produce records of emission monitoring required under state permits.
The fine on SumiRico, previously known as DTR LLC, was imposed on Nov. 27 by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation after inspectors went to the facility and asked to see the records that the company is required to maintain for at least five years.
According to the notice from TDEC Director Michelle Owenby, the company permit requires daily, weekly and monthly recording of certain emissions.
The monitoring is required of emission on the company's controlled coating operations. The firm produces parts for auto manufacturer's including anti-vibration products. Its customers include Honda and Toyota, according to the company web site
The inspectors visited the Midway firm on Feb. 27 and March 21 and asked to see three different sets of records, but in each case the firm "was unable to provide these records or confirm that the respondent (SumiRico) had performed these requirements."
The firm has been the subject of prior TDEC actions.