Environmental Defense Denounces NC Vote On Toxic Air Pollutant

(8 April 2004 - Raleigh, NC)  Environmental Defense today criticized the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) for failing to protect public health by exempting wastewater treatment ponds at pulp and paper mills from new emissions standards set for hydrogen sulfide (H2S).  H2S, a toxic gas produced by pulp and paper mills and phosphate mining operations, is commonly identified by its rotten-egg odor.  The pollutant can make eyes and skin burn and trigger symptoms associated with asthma attacks.

“For many North Carolinians, hydrogen sulfide doesn’t just smell bad, it feels bad,” said Michael Shore, senior air policy analyst with the North Carolina office of Environmental Defense.  “The EMC failed to protect public health when it exempted wastewater treatment ponds at pulp and paper mills.  These ponds account for a staggering 89 percent, on average, of all hydrogen sulfide emissions from pulp and paper mills.  The EMC and the state must be vigilant so that ponds, which account for most of the harmful hydrogen sulfide emissions, will be included in future standards.”

“Some in industry want to ignore the harmful effects of hydrogen sulfide, and they successfully lobbied for weak standards that exempted wastewater treatment ponds from pulp and paper mills. Our bodies do not make a special exception for emissions that come from treating wastewater, and neither should the EMC. Exempting ponds from hydrogen sulfide standards will also exempt them from meeting standards for another dangerous pollutant, methyl mercaptan, for which North Carolina already has a strict standard,” said Shore.

“Hydrogen sulfide affects the daily lives of citizens living in six counties — Beaufort, Columbus, Craven, Halifax, Haywood and Washington — and the health of those who travel through these communities.  Even people who live up to 25 miles away from the source of hydrogen sulfide emissions can feel the effects,” said Shore.