Sulfuric Acid Plant Emissions Cost Dupont and Lucite $2 Million

The sulfuric acid plant, owned by Lucite and operated by DuPont, is located on a 100-acre chemical manufacturing complex along the Kanawha River nine miles southeast of the state capital, Charleston.

In a joint complaint, filed together with the consent decree, the United States and West Virginia allege that the companies made modifications to their plant in 1996 without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution control equipment.

The Clean Air Act requires major sources of air pollution to obtain ermits before making changes that would result in a significant emissions increase of any pollutant.

The Dupont Belle sulfuric acid plant on the Kanawha River (Photo courtesy Teledyne Wah Chang Albany)

The Belle sulfuric acid plant burns sulfuric acid sludge, which creates sulfur dioxide, SO2. Sulfuric acid is widely used for ore processing, fertilizer manufacturing, oil refining, wastewater processing and chemical synthesis. The Belle plant produces some 40 agriculture and specialty chemical products.

Most of the SO2 made at the Belle plant is converted to sulfuric acid and recovered, but a portion of the chemical amounting to 1,059 tons per year is emitted to the atmosphere.

Sulfur dioxide can have serious health effects on children, the elderly, and people with heart and lung conditions.

It also contributes to the formation of acid rain, which can affect ponds, lakes and streams. Acid rain has resulted in the acidification of waters in ponds, lakes, and streams, leading to the disappearance of animal and plant life.

Acid rain damages forests and crops, changes the makeup of soil, and makes lakes and streams acidic and unsuitable for fish. Continued exposure over a long time changes the natural variety of plants and animals in an ecosystem.

In addition to SO2, each year the plant also emits 98.7 tons of sulfuric acid mist, as well as 86.1 tons of nitrogen dioxide and 212.4 tons of carbon monoxide, whcih contribute to smog.

Acid mist is a suspension of acid droplets in the air. The EPA says breathing in acid vapors and mists can cause chest tightness and shortness of breath. If the exposure continues, the burning and irritation of the lining of the lungs can cause fluids to collect in the lungs, leading to pneumonia, respiratory failure and death.

The companies have chosen to shut down the sulfuric-acid manufacturing unit of a larger chemical facility at the site and the settlement agreed today confirms this agreement. Under the settlement, the sulfuric acid unit is scheduled to shut down by April 1, 2010.

"The actions taken as part of this settlement will reduce emissions of air pollutants by more than 1,000 tons each year," said Catherine McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

The settlement is part of the EPA's work to improve compliance among industries that have the potential to cause significant amounts of air pollution, including the cement manufacturing, glass manufacturing, and acid production industries.

"This settlement is part of the U.S. government's dedicated effort to bring all sulfuric acid manufacturers into compliance with the Clean Air Act," said John Cruden, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Environmental and Natural Resources Division.

This settlement, together with prior acid plant settlements, brings to 22 the number of these facilities nationwide now under consent decrees, representing approximately 10 percent of the capacity of this industrial sector.

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