Statistics on local air pollution tri-cities (Kingsport, Philadelphia: 2009, lawsuit, dangerous)

[dreamofmonterey]

Just the numbers as reported in August 2009


The Toxic 100: The Top Corporate Air Polluters in the U.S. | No WhiteWash!

[rccrain]

I wish we had 3 or 4 of the companies from that list HQed in our area.

[dreamofmonterey]

Well to be honest I never realized how many companies are on that list, apparently Weyerhauser paper is, I'm not sure if they still operate in Kingsport.

I know there's a paper factory in Canton, NC(western NC) and it stinks to high heaven!

[rccrain]

Weyerhauser - Kpt only accounts for 8% of all Weyerhauser air releases.

[dreamofmonterey]

I don't really undertand the mercury issue in rivers, etc...but I do know a lot of fish from Holston river iis inedible, have to read more about why when I have time...I also heard about Massengill-Myers lawsuit in 80's for illegal dumping of medical/red bag waste

[donsabi]

There is a website that allows a comparison of any two areas and rates them in five pollution categories. The comparison is done county to county. I tried to use an area that I knew was polluted and I picked Philadelphia county, PA. I compared Sullivan county, TN to Philadelphia county, PA and was shocked to see that Philadelphia county scored better in four out of five categories. In the one category that Sullivan county was better the difference was very little.

[dreamofmonterey]

I have checked a lot of the superfund sites which are run by the EPA, they are highly technical and abstract. The water issue is of concern to me, and lakes.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by dreamofmonterey

I don't really undertand the mercury issue in rivers, etc...but I do know a lot of fish from Holston river iis inedible, have to read more about why when I have time...

The mercury came from a plant in Saltville, VA that shut down in 1972:

The North Fork Holston River from the Matheson Chemical Corporation/Olin Plant in Saltville to the Tennessee Line is contaminated with mercury. The site is an EPA Superfund site, which is being monitored and regulated by EPA and other state and federal agencies. Periodic monitoring by the Olin Corporation, with EPA oversight, is being conducted to ensure that proper clean-ups are achieved. In spite of its reputation for mercury contamination, however, the water quality is actually fair to good. Unfortunately, due to the presence of mercury in the river system, bans on fish consumption are still in place and tests indicate that sediment in the North Fork still contain significant amounts of mercury.
Holston River Subwatershed

There is a website that allows a comparison of any two areas and rates them in five pollution categories. The comparison is done county to county. I tried to use an area that I knew was polluted and I picked Philadelphia county, PA. I compared Sullivan county, TN to Philadelphia county, PA and was shocked to see that Philadelphia county scored better in four out of five categories.

One of those four categories is agricultural (i.e., farm animal) waste. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Sullivan Co. has more farm critters than Philadelphia.

And while it's certainly true that Eastman's toxic release inventory is significantly higher than all of Philadelphia Co.'s, large manufacturers typically aren't located in densely populated urban centers.

BTW, using that same website you referenced (Scorecard.org), Philadelphia Co.'s additional cancer risk (per 1 million people) for hazardous air pollutants is 3.8 times that of Sullivan Co. and their non-cancer hazard index is 3.4 times greater.

You might find these air-quality comparisons enlightening:
AirCompare Report
AirCompare Report
AirCompare Report

[mbmouse]

Hmm..interesting data as always Kamoshika. Looks like PA is much worse air quality that all of Sullivan county, not just Kingsport.
It is true that having Eastman in the middle of residential is very odd compared to other plants of it's size.

[Jim37680]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

Hmm..interesting data as always Kamoshika. Looks like PA is much worse air quality that all of Sullivan county, not just Kingsport.
It is true that having Eastman in the middle of residential is very odd compared to other plants of it's size.

It's not really at all odd if you review the growth history of the Eastman plant and look at many of the old site pictures that the company has on display in locations such as the company museum in the Employee Center on South Wilcox Drive. The plant there started operation in the early 1920's and was surrounded by cornfields and woodland in all directions. Most city development was probably two miles away. Very early on Kodak bought up most of the agricultural land along the river south of Blue Ridge Glass. Much of the residential development around the plant did not occur until the post-WWII boom and by then the current plant footprint was already established. That footprint has not really expanded since then although much development and replacement has been added within that footprint. Virtually all of the residential property of the once infamous Long Island community has been bought and converted to industrial use- mostly since 1980. Eastman once has much company housing along area of Lincoln Street but that is all gone now.

So, the dense residential perimeter came long after the plant was there. Same thing seems to happen with airports for some reason. When the Bopal disaster happened in India several years ago people asked why Union Carbide would locate a dangerous process plant the middle of a densely populated "slum". The answer was that the plant was originally built in a remote, rural location and such investment in rural India attracts people like flies to roadkill (works in Tennessee too).