January 21, 2010 by editor
The Davenport Cement Plant near Buffalo is one of 13 Lafarge North America facilities nationwide that will be required to upgrade its air pollution control equipment under an agreement reached with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The consent decree announced Thursday (January 21) by the EPA requires the Davenport facility to install a dry absorbent addition (DAA) system to lower sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from its cement kiln.
Sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory illnesses particularly in at-risk populations including children, the elderly and asthmatics. The primary sources of SO2 emissions are fossil fuel combustion at power plants (66 percent) and other industrial facilities (29 percent), according to the EPA.
The EPA first set standards for SO2 in 1971. The current 24-hour primary standard is .14 ppm (parts per million) and an annual average standard at .030 ppm (to protect health). The latest 2008 data for SO2 in Scott County was 0.003 ppm for the 24-hour average and 0.001 ppm for the annual average.
The Quad Cities (Rock Island and Scott Counties) narrowly avoided being classified last year as "non-attainment" for fine particulate pollution (PM2, particulate matter of 2.5 microns and smaller) and is close to exceeding the current EPA standard for ozone.
The EPA enforcement action against Lafarge is expected to result in facility upgrades that will reduce annual emissions from the 13 Lafarge plants by more than 26,000 tons of SO2 and 9,900 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx). Installation of the additional pollution control at all the Lafarge facilities is expected to cost up to $170 million.
As part of the consent decree, Lafarge also has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $5 million within 30 days, with $3.38 million paid to the federal government, and the remainder to be paid to state and local agencies participating in the settlement. Iowa is expected to received $135,000 from the settlement.
For an complete overview of the EPA consent decree with Lafarge, CLICK HERE.
