December 02, 2016
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (”LDEQ”) issued a November 22nd news release announcing an agreement by a LaPlace, Louisiana manufacturing facility to voluntarily implement certain chloroprene control measures.
The agreement was entered into by LDEQ, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, St. John the Baptist Parish, and the owner of the facility, Denka Performance Elastomer (“DPE”).
DPE has committed to instituting a series of technical measures to reduce emissions of chloroprene from the facility. The company states that it has been in compliance with existing permits but the voluntary measures are intended to reduce emissions of chloroprene by 85%.
The measures identified include:
- Installation of a modification of the Neoprene Unit to route emissions from the Poly Kettles Vent Condenser to an additional vent condenser which will operate in series with the existing equipment.
- Installation of a new vacuum pump and brine condenser on the Chloroprene Refining Column, replacing an older vacuum system;
- Installation of more than 1200 feet of pipe to route process vents in the monomer area to the HCl unit for removal by combustion;
- Installation of a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer to remove much of the remaining chloroprene emissions from the site.
LDEQ states that in 2010 chloroprene was reclassified as a likely carcinogen by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Further, it notes that EPA release at the 2011 National Air Toxic Assessment mat which showed a high risk for cancer in and around what was formerly the DuPont facility for the period of the study and is now the DPE facility. EPA and LDEQ are stated to have worked with DPE since that time to find ways to reduce emissions from the plant.
A copy of the news release can be downloaded below.
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