Dayton Daily News
May 14, 2003

Company accused of clean-air violations; Perma-Fix in line for controversial VX residue disposal

By Jim DeBrosse
e-mail address: jdebrosse@coxohio.com
Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | The same local waste-treatment company being considered for disposal of waste products from deadly VX nerve agent has violated air-pollution standards for more than a year and could be sued under the federal Clean Air Act, according to a formal notice filed Tuesday by a residents' group.

Perma-Fix of Dayton "is a public nuisance which emits strong and unreasonable odors which endanger the health, safety and welfare of the public living near the facility," according to a certified letter to the company and to local, state and federal air pollution control officials.

Perma-Fix officials have said they emptied and cleaned their reactors in October and installed a thermal oxidizer to burn off odors. Even so, the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency is receiving two to four complaints a week from Jefferson Twp. residents in the area, said the agency's abatement supervisor, D. Curtis Marshall.

Legal Aid attorney Ellis Jacobs filed the notice of intent to sue on behalf of nearby residents as well as for Citizens for the Responsible Destruction of Chemical Weapons, a grassroots group opposed to a U.S. Army plan to award Perma-Fix a $9 million contract to dispose of 300,000 gallons of hydrolysate, the waste product from VX. The hydrolysate would be shipped 195 miles from the Army's VX storage in Newport, Ind., starting in October.

Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has 60 days to take action against Perma-Fix before the suit goes to U.S. District Court.

Jacobs' letter states that Perma-Fix has failed to complete its emissions testing and obtain proper permits to install and operate its equipment, as ordered by the Regional Air Pollution Control Agency in July of 2001.

Also at issue is whether Perma-Fix should be classified as a Title V operation - that is, a potential major polluter with the capacity to produce 10 tons or more per year of any single hazardous air pollutant, or 25 tons or more of any combination of hazardous air pollutants. If so, Perma-Fix would need special permits and would have to meet stricter controls to run its plant.

Perma-Fix officials said Tuesday they have all the proper permits. "Emissions from many of our units are very, very low and, by regulation, do not require a permit to install," said Tom Trebonik, a spokesman for the company.

Trebonik said Perma-Fix recently submitted calculations to both the Ohio and U.S. environmental protection agencies "to document and support that we are not subject to Title V permits and reporting."

The regional office of the U.S. EPA did not return a call Tuesday.

Contact Jim DeBrosseat 225-2437 or jdebrosse@coxohio.com