March 9, 2006

By ROSETTE ROYALE
Staff Reporter

As the crow flies, Beth Lynch lives a little more than three miles from the Lafarge Cement plant. But it’s not so much the crows flying from one locale to the next that gives the White Center homeowner pause: What troubles Lynch are the things she can’t see that might eventually begin to waft from the cement plant over her home and those of her neighbors: “I’m more concerned with the dangerous emissions,” she says.

Of concern for Lynch is the desire for Lafarge to use whole tires in its kiln to create the high heat needed to make its sole product. Lafarge, located on W. Marginal Way, already uses chipped tires in its kiln, a process that it started in 1991. But the changeover to whole tires represents a significant shift: currently, the company burns the equivalent of 600 to 800 tires a day; with the change to whole tires, that number could more than quadruple.

But first, Lafarge needs to procure a permit from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (PSCAA), An application for a two-year temporary permit to house what’s known as a “mid-kiln tire injector” on site is under review.

Steve Van Slyke, supervisory engineer for PSCAA, says the agency is still reviewing public hearing testimony to determine if Lafarge will be granted the application and, if so, what changes the agency may require. “We expect that a decision will come and be done with by the end of [this] week,” says Van Slyke.

Lafarge, according to plant technical manager Mike Depew, is looking into the shift for two reasons. “It’s more profitable for us,” says Depew. “And it’s better for the environment.”

Depew says burning whole tires reduces landfill waste. One tire per capita is generated every year in the United States, says Depew, with Seattleites accounting for nearly half a million of that pile.

Additionally, says Depew, the plant will save fuel by using local tires instead of trucking chipped tires from Portland. “And we want to replace natural fuel with alternative fuels,” he adds.

Presently, chipped tires make up close to 20 percent of the plant’s fuel, with coal and petroleum coke the remainder A switch to whole tires means the rubber — steel belts and all — will account for 40 percent, resulting in the lessening of the coal-coke mixture and potentially cleaner emissions.

But Van Slyke says there are still numerous unknowns, including questions regarding higher carbon monoxide levels and the emissions of dioxins and furans. “We don’t know if dioxins will go up with mid-kiln firing,” says Van Slyke, “so dioxin testing will be part of the temporary application.”

Lynch says she has concerns about these emissions and others. In a letter submitted during public comments, Lynch writes that “last year Lafarge failed two Dioxin/Furan tests.” The source tests required of Lafarge, she also writes, won’t look into “Benzene, Styrene, Toluene, and Xylene.” An EPA document Lynch procured notes the potential increase of more than 15 other volatile organic compounds with regards to scrap tire combustion.

While public hearings allowed Lynch to present information, she found the process disappointing. “I thought there would be a question-and-answer period,” she says.

Van Slyke says he is aware of public frustration. Lafarge has often been targeted by odor complaints — the most recent manifesting in a written odor warning from PSCAA on Nov. 17 — and concerns with environmental compliance. All of this, he says, is combined with frustration from the public that none of their questions were being addressed at the hearing. “What they want and need is information, not something that’s difficult to get through,” he says. “We can look for some improvement on that.”

As for now, Lynch and the others who offered their comments have to wait for word from the PSCAA. If the permit is granted, then it’s up to Lafarge, she says, to step up to the plate.

“ They’ve told us in the past they want to be good neighbors,” says Lynch. “I’d like them to put their money where their mouth is.” n