EPA issues 48 citations to Perma-Fix
Gives 30 days for compliance plan

By Dale Dempsey, Jim DeBrosse
Dayton Daily News
Friday, February 06, 2004

DAYTON -- The U.S. EPA charged Perma-Fix of Dayton with 48 violations of the Clean Air Act and gave the company 30 days to explain how it plans to come into compliance and prevent future violations.
 
Perma-Fix, 300 S. West End Ave. off West Third Street, has long been a source of complaints about odors from its Drexel neighbors. The company had planned this year to truck in a byproduct of the destruction of VX nerve agent from Newport, Ind., for treatment at its facility, but the project was canceled after intense local protests.
 
Ellis Jacobs, the legal aid attorney representing residents who live near the plant, said he was grateful for the EPA action but disappointed that the agency took nearly two years to respond to neighbors' complaints.
 
County air inspectors first cited the plant for air violations on Jan. 10, 2002. When neighbors continued to complain, Jacobs, on May 13, 2003, filed a notice of intent to sue Perma-Fix under the federal Clean Air Act.
 
"We're grateful for this positive, if somewhat delayed, action," he said. "We're exploring what our options are in terms of whether or not we will file our own lawsuit."
 
Rose Campbell, 55, who lives at 225 Cherokee Drive, two houses from the entrance to the plant, said odor problems continue unabated in the neighborhood.
 
Perma-Fix officials are "saying it's not as bad now, but that's because we're not outside as much" because of the cold weather, Campbell said. "It's still the same."
 
Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons of the Miami Valley, the grassroots group that stopped the Army's plan last year to ship neutralized VX to the plant for Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons of the Miami Valley, the grassroots group that stopped the Army's plan last year to ship neutralized VX to the plant for treatment, has shifted its focus to eliminating the odor from the plant.
 
"It's not just that (surrounding) neighborhood being affected, but the whole community," said Laura Rench, a Jefferson Twp. resident and member of the grassroots group. "We've discovered that a lot of people driving through (the West Third Street corridor) are assaulted by it on a daily basis."
 
Perma-Fix Plant Manager Doug McClain said the company will work with the EPA.
 
"Due to the nature of these findings, it will take time to fully review and digest the document and its findings," McClain said. "Perma-Fix has been cooperating fully with both federal and state agencies on this matter for a number of years now and we look forward to a favorable conclusion."
 
Regional Air Pollution Control Agency inspectors found detectable strong odors near the Perma-Fix plant on 70 of 97 random visits to the neighborhood between May 2002 and June 2003.
 
RAPCA officials wanted Perma-Fix to be defined as a major source of air pollution; install Maximum Achievable Control Technology, and apply to the Ohio EPA for a Title V permit.
 
State and federal law require Title V permits for any facility that emits 25 tons per year or more of any two or more hazardous air pollutants. The U.S. EPA lists 189 hazardous air pollutants in Section 112 of the 1990 Clean Air Act.
 
"We feel they are subject to those requirements," said Bruno Maier, spokesman for RAPCA. "They had a different interpretation."
 
The U.S. EPA could issue a compliance order, impose a financial penalty or bring civil or criminal action.
 
"The option we select may depend on, among other things, the length of time you take to achieve and demonstrate continuous compliance," the U.S. EPA complaint states.
 
Perma-Fix treats, stores and disposes of a number of hazardous wastes, mostly used oils.
 
In early 2003, the company sought a $9  million contract from the U.S. Army to dispose of hydrolysate, a by-product of the destruction of VX nerve agent. Hydrolysate is not instantly lethal like VX agent but is still classified as a hazardous material.
 
The Army canceled the contract with Perma-Fix in October and now plans to ship the hydrolysate to a DuPont facility in New Jersey.
 
The company installed a biological treatment process to treat the hydrolysate, but failed to submit information to state and federal regulators concerning emissions, the U.S. EPA found.
 
U.S. EPA spokesman Bill Omohundro said the agency could not comment beyond what is in its Finding of Violation complaint.
 

 
Contact Dale Dempsey at 225-2270.