Photo courtesy of Richmond County Economic Development

This is a kiln that is used in the pyrolysis process to produce biochar from shredded railroad ties treated with creosote.

HAMLET — A group of residents who live near the property where International Tie Disposal plans to build its new industrial site continue to be concerned about the impact to their health and the environment, while the company and county officials are working to mitigate those concerns.

International Tie Disposal (ITD) applied for a synthetic minor construction permit with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on Sept. 15. If approved, this permit would allow the company to build a biochar production site on Marks Creek Church Road east of Hamlet. The site would take in creosote-treated railroad ties that are 20 to 30 years old and convert them to biochar through a process known as pyrolysis.

The USDA defines pyrolysis as “the heating of an organic material, such as biomass, in the absence of oxygen” and explains further that, “(b)ecause no oxygen is present the material does not combust but the chemical compounds (i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) that make up that material thermally decompose into combustible gases and charcoal.”

Since this application’s existence became public, the site’s neighbors — who were already against this property being rezoned to Heavy Industrial — and Hamlet officials have sought answers about the “bad news” that would come along with the new industry. These concerns have largely focused on the plight of residents of Madison and Franklin counties in Georgia, who in August won a year-long battle with Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) by securing a unanimous vote in the Georgia legislature to ban the burning of creosote-treated railroad ties to produce power because of the extent of the negative health and environmental effects.

In testimonials that were submitted to the Georgia legislature and provided to the Daily Journal, nearby residents reported that GRP was producing overwhelming emissions that caused their eyes, throat and lungs to burn, caused headaches and nose bleeds, and left an oily sheen on nearby creeks.

But there is a core difference in what ITD is planning and what GRP did: ITD will perform pyrolysis on the railroad ties, rather than burning them — which ITD says is a much cleaner process — and the end product is biochar in ITD’s process, not power.

There have been no definitive answers to the residents’ concerns, but Basil Polivka Jr., who is serving as director of pyrolysis implementation for the ITD site, told Hope and Lonnie Norton, whose property is adjacent to the site, that damage to air quality as a result of the new facility “should not be a concern.”

“It is always extremely important to stress that NOx (nitrogen oxides that are pollutants), or any controlled gases are problematic due to direct exposure, or past a certain threshold, which causes the exposure to reach levels akin to direct exposure,” Polivka explained in the email. “Everyone is exposed to far more direct toxins within our homes: gas stoves, charcoal grills, paraffin candles, tobacco (should one smoke), poor exhaust from vehicles, etc.” than they would be exposed to from the emissions from ITD’s kilns.

The other concerns include the sound from the plant caused by the shredding of the railroad ties, water runoff from the stacks of railroad ties, particulate matter in the air, and smell. Polivka said the company is still in the process of providing data to the concerned residents.

Polivka’s preliminary response on the concern over water runoff was that these impacts will be minor based on research into the impact of creosote on water quality in its general use for railroads. Richmond County Economic Developer Martie Butler said in an email that a “third party review” of the impacts of this runoff at ITD’s site is expected to be completed within the coming days or weeks. The review is being conducted by Minnow Aquatic Environmental Services, which is a subsidiary of Trinity Consulting, the same company that prepared ITD’s permit application.

One study Polivka cited on the effect of creosote on water found that polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the harmful compounds within creosote, increase within the water column in the first seven days of installation of a railroad but declined significantly over the next 84 days.

“When these initial concentration levels declined, the authors concluded that ‘the accumulation of creosote associated PAHs from impregnated pilings in aquatic environments will likely be minimal and probably not pose a significant risk to aquatic biota,” reads the study.

The abstract of a study entitled “Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Migration From Creosote-Treated Railway Ties Into Ballast and Adjacent Wetlands” studied the amount of PAH present in water surrounding treated railroad ties over a period of two summers following installation. The abstract of the study reports that PAH levels were higher in the water when the new railroad ties were introduced, but these levels declined until they were “statistically significant” by the second summer.

“These results suggest that it is reasonable to expect a detectable migration of creosote-derived PAH from newly treated railway ties into supporting ballast during their first exposure to hot summer weather,” the abstract reads. “The PAH rapidly disappeared from the ballast during the fall and winter following this initial loss.”

Polivka told the Nortons that the company is “investigating” other ways to reduce the size of the ties besides shredding them, which they are concerned will cause significant noise. He said that this concern of theirs was “legitimate.” The solution will either be to put the shredder in a building with sound protection, though the company is looking for another method because this could produce significant dust within the building. The concern over particulate matter will be addressed in a similar way, Polivka said.

Polivka is also working on providing the residents with information about what they can expect in terms of smell from the plant.

In the meantime, Hamlet City Manager Matthew Christian has asked DEQ to require ITD hold a public comment period and public hearing on their permit application based on the concerns raised by the residents, his research of the situation in Georgia, and the answers provided to residents by Polivka and his father at a meeting in October.

“You don’t have to be a scientist to know that this facility presents a real hazard, and air quality is just the tip of the iceberg,” Christian told the Daily Journal in an email after he made his request to DEQ for a more public process. “I have not heard anything from the company, their consultants, or the county that gives me confidence that our community won’t experience the same harm as the folks in Georgia.”

Butler has urged local officials and the nearby residents of the site to allow DEQ’s scientists to finish their review of ITD’s permit.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected] To support the Richmond County Daily Journal, subscribe at https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/subscribe.

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