After testing the first unit to make sure the custom-designed equipment works as intended, the company plans to install the rest of the filters over the course of the summer, with a goal of completing the work by late July or early August.

Once the entire system is up and running, company officials say, it will eliminate 99 percent of all filterable particulates, significantly cut fluoride emissions, reduce water use by 80-90 percent, virtually eliminate the visible steam plume above the plant and reduce noise levels from the operation.

The new system will not reduce carbon monoxide emissions coming out of the stacks, but H&V officials say they hope it will ease at least some of the concerns expressed by people in the residential district around the factory.

“Our intent was to take the particulate level — which was the main concern of the neighborhood — as low as we possibly could,” said Ken Fausnacht, the company’s vice president for global operations.

Fausnacht declined to say how much money the company is spending on the new equipment, but a building permit application filed with the city of Corvallis puts the value of the project at $2.2 million.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, Hollingsworth & Vose has 14 locations in a half-dozen countries around the world. The Corvallis plant employs about 150 people and produces glass fiber for use in specialty applications such as battery separators and clean room air filters.

In late 2015, state environmental regulators learned that the Corvallis plant had been operating under the wrong class of air pollution permit for almost 20 years and had been putting out much higher levels of fluoride and carbon monoxide than its permit allowed. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality fined H&V but allowed the plant to continue operating at established production levels while it applied for the appropriate permits.

The revelations alarmed neighbors, who flocked to a series of community meetings to voice their concerns over the DEQ’s regulatory lapses and the possible health effects of breathing tiny glass fibers and other pollutants coming from the plant.

The new ceramic dry filtration devices are among several steps H&V has taken to address those concerns and position itself to meet potentially more stringent emissions limits coming down the pike from the state, which is developing new health-based air pollution standards. The company also has installed several monitors in and around the plant to measure carbon monoxide levels in its emissions and in the ambient air around the plant, as well as a weather station to capture data about wind patterns and other factors that can affect where pollution ends up.

Marilyn Koenitzer, founder of a citizens group called Clean Corvallis Air, said she welcomes any reduction in emissions at the plant but fears some of the smallest and most concerning particulates may still get through. She also worries that the Title V air pollution permit the company is seeking may allow higher levels of carbon monoxide emissions than the plant is currently discharging.

“I don’t care what their production rate is if they contain the effluent,” she said. “If that happens I will be very happy, but I’m waiting to see. I’m reserving total judgment until we see what the testing reveals.”

Fausnacht said he hopes the new equipment will not only slash emissions but also demonstrate the company’s good intentions.

“We want to reduce our emissions dramatically, we want to position ourselves for the long-term viability of this site and we want to show that we’re responding to the concerns of the community — specifically the people in this immediate neighborhood,” he said.

“We want to be here for the long haul, and we know we can’t be here for the long haul unless we make changes.”

*Original article online at http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/h-v-installs-new-filter/article_d6e51de6-9130-5529-8fea-088d578abca7.html

Notes from FAN:

— This is the second incident in Oregon where an industry did not report its fluoride emissions. The first issue was Intel in Hillsboro, Oregon, which emitted fluoride from its large manufacturing site since 1978 but never informed the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) nor did the DEQ consider to ask -even though software manufacturing is a major source of fluorine entering the environment. See news report in The Oregonian, Intel has been emitting fluoride for years without state knowledge, permit, Sept 13, 2013.

— See chemicals from EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory reported by Hollingsworth & Vose from 1988 to 2009.

Reports:

• January 2016. Fluoride Air Dispersion Modeling Report. Hollingsworth & Vose Fiber Company, by Golder Associates Inc. A description of “the modeling methodology and input data that was used to conduct ambient air modeling of HF and F for comparison to accepted risk -based chronic exposure thresholds at nearby residential locations (i.e. at locations where long term exposure could occur).”
• 2016. Report from H&V’s facility in Georgia: Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Application. Hollingsworth & Vose Company, Hyalus, Inc. Facility. By Golder Associates Inc.  “The Fluorides emission rate is a controlled emission rate based on 98% or better control of filterable fluoride particles. The facility is requesting a federally enforceable limit of 2.9 tons/year. Therefore, PSD permitting will not be applicable to Fluorides emissions (Table 2-2, page 11).” 
• 2016. State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Hollingsworth & Vose Fiber Company: Air Quality Questions and Answers.

News Reports:

• Dec 18, 2015: H&V Fiber faces hefty DEQ fines
• Jan 25, 2016: Neighbors air pollution concerns at H&V factory
• March 30, 2016: Residents vent concerns at H&V forum
• June 8, 2017: H&V installs new filter
• July 21 2017: State begins testing near H&V plant
• August 3, 2017: H&V seeks greenway permit