[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish industrial plant shut down after DEQ concerns about potential emissions

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish industrial plant shut down after DEQ concerns about
potential emissions
 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on January 30, 2013 at 3:49 PM, updated January 30, 2013 at 3:50 PM Print

A St. Bernard Parish industrial plant is shut down this week after the state
Department of Environmental Quality revoked a variance that allowed it to
emit more sulphur dioxide through a different stack. The Rain CII petroleum
coke processing plant was shut down on Thursday after state DEQ officials
became concerned that the variance potentially could allow more sulphur
dioxide to be released than is allowed under the plant's permit.

The plant might remain closed for the several more weeks. But despite
heightened sulphur dioxide readings in the Chalmette area since the Dec. 5
variation was granted to Rain CII, DEQ Assistant Secretary Sam Phillips said
on Wednesday that he does not believe the variance caused the elevated
chemical levels that caused people to complain of odors and eye irritation
that past two months.

"There is no correlation in my mind between the incidences that occurred in
December (and January) and this variance," Phillips said on Wednesday. "But
because of the heightened sensitivity to S02, I want to make sure we are
taking every precaution."

The Rain CII plant was granted the variance allowing a piece of equipment
called a pyroscrubber stack to vent more sulphur dioxide because there was a
"boiler tube rupture which has disabled the waste heat recovery system,"
according to the variance approval letter that Phillips signed.

However, the variance, which would have lasted through Feb. 28, was not
supposed to allow an increase in the allowed amount of sulphur dioxide being
emitted from the plant.

Phillips said that he revoked the variance Jan. 24 because, upon further
review of that variance, "it was unclear to me that it wasn't going up."

Normally, the gas stream is vented through the plant's waste heat boiler or
baghouse, both of which are pollution reduction processes. But the company
also is allowed to use the pyroscrubber stack as a bypass for up to 500
hours a year during outages of the waste heat boiler or baghouse.

The variance allowed the use of that bypass for an additional 336 hours.

After that variance was revoked the plant was shut down. The plant will
remain shuttered as it works to repair to its boiler, and some other related
apparatuses, according to James Garner, an attorney representing Rain CII.

Garner said the plant is waiting on some custom-made parts and that the
plant might remain closed for several more weeks.

"Was there slightly higher S02 (sulphur dioxide) out of hot stack? Yes. But
was it the stuff people were smelling? No," Garner said.

On Dec. 21, a cloud of sulphur dioxide gas hovered over the Mississippi
River and was blamed for complaints of eye and throat irritation by
passengers about a ferry crossing the river below New Orleans. While state
DEQ officials said they suspected the toxic chemical was believed to be
coming from the Rain CII plant, the plant denied the allegation.

Short-term exposure to sulphur dioxide, ranging from 5 minutes to 24 hours,
could cause an array of adverse respiratory effects, especially to those
suffering from emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease. The effects can be more
profound on asthmatics, children and the elderly.

The Rain CII plant produces calcined petroleum coke by heating petroleum
coke produced by oil refineries to remove contaminants so the carbon-based
material can be turned into anodes for production of aluminum.

That process removes sulphur dioxide and other pollutants from the coke.