US Nitrogen Reports Higher Nolichucky Use

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

The use of water from the Nolichucky River by a Greene County chemical firm climbed in January to more than 11 million gallons, according to a report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The report filed by US Nitrogen LLC today showed the firm pumped 11.9 million gallons from the waterway in January, up from 10.8 million gallons in December but lower than the 18.6 million reported in November.
The monthly report was filed as TDEC approved the transfer of a key permit from US Nitrogen to Praxair, a producer of liquefied carbon dioxide. Praxair operates on the same multi-acre Midway site and utilizes carbon dioxide produced by US Nitrogen in the production of ammonium nitrate.
Under the permit Praxair is limited to producing no more than 90.8 tons of liquified carbon dioxide in any 12 month period.
Praxair, which serves the beverage industry, must maintain detailed records on the amount of carbon dioxide it receives from US Nitrogen and the amount it then ships in liquefied form to its customers, according to the permit.
Initially the permit to operate a carbon dioxide liquefaction facility was granted to US Nitrogen, but a transfer was requested recently citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and policy changes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The transfer of ownership in the permit was effective on June 29 of last year, according to the renewal notice.
The monthly river report filed by US Nitrogen shows the company discharged 5.9 million gallons of wastewater back into the river. The discharge point is at mile marker 20.8 on the river.
The report shows that US Nitrogen pumped in excess of 700,000 gallons of water from the river on 13 days of the month with the highest total coming on Jan. 28. On Jan. 10 no water was drawn from the Nolichucky.
On six days during January the company did not discharge any wastewater into the river.
The January discharge total was down from the 6.2 million gallons discharged in December.
The monthly river use reports are required under the state's permit.
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New River Tests Show No Thallium

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

By Walter F. Roche Jr.New

New tests conducted on samples from the Nolichucky River show no traces of a chemical that can cause severe illness and even death, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The tests, which were conducted on samples gathered at various spots along the river, found that if any thallium was present it was below detectable levels.
The new tests appear to contradict a report filed recently with TDEC showing thallium levels some three times the levels considered safe in drinking water.
n that report the Greene County company reported that water it had discharged into the Nolichucky contained 10.3 parts per billion of thallium. The company discharge pipe is at mile marker 20.8 of the river.
The new tests included samples gathered at mile markers 20.7 and 20.9. The new results appear to coincide with annual tests conducted by the Greeneville Water Commission, which found no traces of thallium. Those tests were some 57 miles upstream of US Nitrogen
Despite the conflicting results TDEC has no immediate plans to conduct further tests.
"TDEC has no current plans to conduct additional sampling, but we will continue to monitor this issue closely," said Kim Schofinski, TDEC spokeswoman.
Officials of US Nitrogen did not respond to requests for comment on the new results
US Nitrogen pumps millions of gallons of water per year from the Nolichucky which it uses in the manufacture of ammonium nitrate.
In an email response to prior questions, Kim Ryans, a US Nitrogen environmental official, said
"US Nitrogen does not use thallium or substances containing thallium as a component of any manufacturing processes."
"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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Thallium Source in Nolichucky Uncertain

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Somewhere between mile markers 57 and and 20.8 on the Nolichucky River a substantial amount of a toxic chemical has been deposited in the waterway, but the source of the chemical remains a mystery..
The presence of thallium first became known in a report filed recently by US Nitrogen which operates a substantial chemical manufacturing facility in Greene County.
In that report filed with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the company reported that water it has discharged into the Nolichucky contained 10.3 parts per billion into the river. The company discharge and intake points are located at mile marker 20.8 of the river in southern Greene County.
The company uses millions of gallons of river water per year in the manufacture of ammonium nitrate.
Some 37 miles upstream at mile marker 57.2, annual tests conducted by the Greeneville Water Commission show no thallium. The tests were conducted on an annual basis on the water that the commission distributes to its customers.
"We are way upstream from US Nitrogen," Laura White of the commission wrote in response to questions.
The maximum level of thallium in drinking water is 2 parts per billion.
In addition, reliable reports show that when water in the Nolichucky arrives at mile marker 20.8 million prior to treatment in US Nitrogen facilities it has a 3 parts per billion level of thallium, less than half the level of 10.3 parts per billion when the company discharges some but not all of the Nolichucky water back into the river.
US Nitrogen officials say that there is no thallium in the water they finally use for manufacturing of ammonium nitrate.
"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.
TDEC officials say they have not yet identified a possible source of the thallium. US Nitrogen officials say the same.
"We cannot speak to background concentrations upstream of the intake point," Ryans said in an email.
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Praxair Requests Waiver. Permit Takeover

By Walter F. Roche Jr

The company that has joined US Nitrogen at its Midway manufacturing facilities is asking Tennessee environmental officials to waive requirements for reporting greenhouse gases, citing similar requests from other Tennessee firms including US Nitrogen.
In a filing this week with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Scott Poole of Praxair, asked that greenhouse gas reporting requirement be removed from a permit the company is expecting to be granted in the near future,
According to Praxair's filing the company expects to receive its own permit on March 31. Previously it had been operating under a permit issued to US Nitrogen.
Companies seeking the waiver from greenhouse gas requirements in Tennessee have cited revised policy statements from the U.S. Environemntal Protection Agency.
Praxair, which produces compressed and liquefied carbon dioxide for the beverage industry, is seeking a permit for a liquefaction facility on the same Greene County property where US Nitrogen produces ammonium nitrate.
Citing the expected permit approval, Poole wrote, "we also would like to request that out greenhouse gas reporting requirements be removed from our upcoming permit."
In a related development US Nitrogen has submitted to TDEC a certification that it will follow the accidental release plan originally filed with the EPA in 2016.
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Water Commission Tests Negative For Thallium

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Annual tests on the drinking water distributed by the Greeneville Water Commission have shown no traces of thallium, which can in some forms lead to illness and even death, according to a testing expert for the agency.
James Jeffers, a lab analyst for the water commission, said in an email response to questions that the annual tests going back to 2005 show no detectable levels of thallium.
He said the tests are conducted in the first quarter of the year by an independent testing company.
Results provided by the commission show that that from 2005 through 2015 the test results showed thallium levels were Beneath Detectable Limits (BDL)
From 2016 to this year the results were ND or no detectable level.
Experts say an ND test result does not mean there is none of the contaminant in the sample but if there is it is below the limit set for the test.
Jeffers said the tests conducted are valid for as little as one part per billion, substantially below the 2 parts per billion limit on thallium in a drinking water supply.
The concern over thallium in the region's drinking water arose because of test results submitted late last year to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation by US Nitrogen, which draws millions of gallons of water from the Nolichucky for use in the production of ammonium nitrate and other chemicals.
Those tests showed that the water being discharged back into the river by the Midway company had 10.3 parts per billion of thallium, more than three times the allowable level of 2 parts per billion in drinking water.
TDEC spokeswoman Kim Schofinski stated earlier this week that the agency would be conducting its own tests to monitor thallium levels but the agency did not believe there was any threat to public health.
"TDEC will be conducting our own sampling out of an abundance of caution," Schofinski wrote in an email response to questions.

TEST RESULTS



Date sample collected: Results:
2-7-05 BDL
2-7-06 BDL
2-7-07 BDL
2-6-08 BDL
2-5-09 BDL
2-9-10 BDL
2-8-11 BDL
1-11-12 BDL
1-9-13 BDL
1-15-14 BDL
1-7-15 BDL
2-3-16 ND
1-4-17 ND
1-3-18 ND
1-3-19 ND
Source: Greeneville Water Commission

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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TDEC Monitoring for Thallium in Drinking Water

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

Tennessee environmental officials say they have yet to identify the source of thallium that turned up from testing of water in the Nolichucky River, but they have no evidence to demonstrate any public health concerns.
Kim Schofinski, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, wrote in an email response to questions that testing thus far has turned up no evidence of the potentially dangerous chemical in drinking water facilities in the area.
The presence of thallium turned up in tests performed by US Nitrogen in Midway and reported to the state in a submission required under one of the company's permits.
The company reported that water it pumped back in the river contained thallium, but the company was not the source of the chemical.
"TDEC has not identified the source of thallium," Schofinski wrote, adding that "we have no evidence at this time to demonstrate any public health concerns."
She said monitoring at drinking water facilities in Greene County showed no traces of thallium.
"We will continue to monitor the situation closely," she concluded.
Some forms of thallium, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, can cause serious health problems and even death.
"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 CDC. "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.
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 company's environmental specialist added, "The water sampled and discharged to the Nolichucky River does not come into direct contact with US Nitrogen’s processes," she added.
"We cannot speak to background concentrations upstream of the intake point," she wrote when asked if the company was aware of the source of the thallium.
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