Bristol, Tennessee battery maker seeks permission to increase release of pollutants
Raising the amount of lead contaminants released to the air in my view, is not the way to go. Also, there seems to be a problem with Exide Technologies, which discharged excessive amounts of lead into the city’s wastewater-treatment system 46 times during 2007
The Bristol, Tennessee Herald Courier reports the following concerning Exide Battery.
Battery maker seeks permission to increase release of pollutants
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Exide Technologies is seeking permission from the state to allow the local plant to legally increase the amount of contaminants it releases into the air.
The Tennessee Division of Air Pollution has received the request, and a final decision on the permit application has not been made.
In a test last month, Exide officials discovered a dust collector was emitting more than 0.32 pounds of “particulate matter” [small particles] per hour. That number is not a maximum for allowable amount of discharges but a previously agreed-upon number between the TDAP and the company. <
Exide officials found that the collector is emitting lead and other contaminates at a rate of 0.64 pounds per hour.
The company plans to modify the dust collector and filter system so the air can move more freely through it. Doing so could increase the amount of emissions, and that’s why Exide is seeking the permit amendment.
“They did what’s called a ‘stack’ test, which just means they tested the air,” said Lacey Hardin, the division’s chief permit writer. “The particles we’re talking about come from the manufacturing of batteries – mainly from grinding.”
Contaminants from the “stack emission point” are derived from production on three assembly lines, according to the permit application. The level of contaminants registered by the company at this point is 0.64 pounds per hour.
The emissions include 0.035 pounds of lead, and trace amounts of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and organic compounds, according to the application.
Hardin said Exide is requesting an increase in allowable airborne emissions from the one filter from 0.32 pounds per hour to 0.80 pounds per hour, or about 3.5 tons a year. The company also is seeking to increase its total annual facility emissions from 60 tons per year to 65 tons per year, she said.
“The absolute limit is 100 tons per year, so they are well within legal limits,” Hardin said. “In fact, they’ve been very proactive in taking this action.”
The state has not yet conducted tests at the plant to verify the numbers, but officials will be doing so in the near future, Hardin said.
Exide published a notice of the request in the Herald Courier on March 20. A public comment period began that day and ends April 20.
A final decision on the application will not be made until the public comment period has ended and the state has a chance to respond to the comments.
“This is an amendment to our existing air permit since the production limits for the assembly lines were increased last year,” Michael W. Fox, Exide’s environmental manager said Thursday in an e-mail.
In September, the city notified Exide that the company had discharged excessive amounts of lead into the city’s wastewater-treatment system 46 times during 2007.
All of the lead was contained in sludge at the wastewater plant on Beaver Creek Road and not discharged downstream, according to city officials.
The city isolated about 1,600 tons of sludge believed to have excessive lead levels and hauled the material to a sanitary landfill. None of the sludge had lead levels above what the state determined must be contained when buried in a landfill, said Matt Dake, project manager of Severn Trent Services, the firm that manages the treatment plant.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Tennessee Division of Air Pollution Control (TDAPC) has received requests for construction and/or modification of air contaminant sources as noted below. The proposed construction and/or modification is subject to part 1200-3-9-.01(1)(h) of the Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulations, which requires a public notification and 30-day public comment period. Interested parties may express their comments and concerns in writing to Mr. Barry R. Stephens, Director, Division of Air Pollution Control, 9th Floor, L & C Annex, 401 Church Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-1531 within thirty (30) days of the date of this notice. Questions concerning a source may be addressed to the assigned Division personnel at the same address or by calling 615-532-0554.
The applicant is Exide Technologies with a mailing address of 364 Exide Drive, Bristol, TN 37620. They seek to obtain an air contaminant permit, (Division identification number: 82-0256-04/61709) for modification of the three phase assembly lines at 364 Exide Drive, Bristol, Tennessee. The existing operation consists of the three phase assembly in the manufacturing of batteries. A fabric filter is used for pollution control. The requested modification is for an increase in the allowable emissions of particulate matter. There would be no physical construction. Regulated air contaminants would be emitted by this source. Mr. Steven R. Simpson is the assigned Division person.