What Chemicals Are Monitored by Pennsylvania's DEP?

Actually, they can monitor almost everything. The DEP themselves came up with only monitoring 4 substances. They may be reporting only 23 chemicals released but there are actually many more. Who knows the exact composition of each tire? Depending on what is burned will change what is emitted. They have found that PAHs, which have 100 different compounds, 5 of which are known carcinogens, are multiplied by 2 to 3 times when burning tires instead of coal. I have found a link between PAHs and Benzene. Rubino will try telling you that burning tires is cleaner than coal, which in most cases is true, except for the PAHs. The DEP doesn't monitor or even look at PAHs in the Air emissions application or when they are being emitted. The DEP took part in a PAH study done by Gannon University. It looked at PAHs both on the bottom of Erie's bay and on the surface. They know all about it yet won't look at it. I directly asked Kelly Birch about monitoring PAHs at a public meeting. He said that they would look into it, which never happened.

One thing that KEEP and Mike Ewall did was get the Erie City Council to work on an Air Monitoring Ordinance. They were going to monitor everything. Council worked on it for almost 2 years and it never was passed.

The DEP does not look at greenhouse gases. The lowest estimate was 27 million pounds emitted per year. The Supreme Court 2 years ago said that CO2 was a hazardous air emission and as such must be regulated. That has never been done. Now the new EPA head is pushing for it to be regulated.

The DEP and the Air Emission Application also does not mention ground level Ozone. A PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry has calculated that because of the reported plant emissions there will be up to 1000 pounds a day of new ground level Ozone created. This Ozone is dangerous to both human and plant health. There should be no strenuous exercise or activity when there is a high Ozone level warning.

We haven't yet talked about the most dangerous emission, Dioxin. When I did a search on this, it showed that it is related to Agent Orange. Dioxin is a byproduct which has killed almost every vet exposed to it. It is emitted from most incinerators. I have articles where waste water was contaminated with Dioxin, which closed plants in Europe. In Japan, an American admiral whose base was downwind from an incinerator said that his sailors had to breath the worst Dioxin laden air of anyone, anywhere. The PA DEP does not monitor Dioxin. In fact, right now in Harrisburg PA there is a 3 fluidized bed waste incinerator. It was reported to be the worst emitter of Dioxin in the whole country. This place is right now 288 million dollars in the hole and Harrisburg is close to bankruptcy because of it. Doesn't it make you feel good that Pennsylvania's Capital has one of the worst Trash Incinerators in the country? It looks bad when the politicians can't even keep the state capital clean and in good fiscal health. Does your local politician even know about the Harrisburg Trash Incinerator? Curt Sonny here in Harborcreek didn't believe or know anything about their incinerator in Harrisburg. This just shows how much concern our politicians show toward peoples' health and that of our environment.

Dioxin has a long half life. Like radioactive material, after 100 years it is still as dangerous as when it was produced. Dioxin will get on plants and grass which animals will then eat and it will get added to the food chain. In France, there were several incinerators in the country. Dairy cattle ate the Dioxin covered grass. They found that the cheese that was being produced had Dioxin levels above what is allowed by law. They shut down the incinerators. Do we like cheese enough to shut places down?

Particulates are a major health hazard. Have you heard of nano particles? The University of Rochester has a new course called Nano Toxicology. Because of the new filters, you won't see anything being emitted from the 300 foot tall smoke stack. ERE's own air expert Joe Pezzi told everyone at a public meeting that everything down to 1 micron will be captured by the filters. The trouble is that the DEP and EPA have not done studies on particles smaller than 2.5 microns. They don't have instruments that I know of to capture and weigh particles smaller than 2.5 microns. The result is that they don't have any regulations on particles that small, nor are there any guidelines on exposure to particles that small.

Just think that there will be 2 million 900 thousand pounds of emissions so small that you won't even see them. And you thought that cigarette smoke you can see and smell is bad for you. Think about trying to weigh almost 3 million pounds of something that you can't see. That is their own estimate of emissions. Again, they do not have to list everything, so how much more will really be coming out?

Studies have shown that these nano particles are far more dangerous to your health than the larger particles that you can see. The amount of toxins on the particles is much denser than on larger particles. That means you get more. The small particles can be absorbed through direct skin contact. If your kids are outside playing and rolling around they can be absorbing the dioxin on the grass or playground. There is also a direct transfer from your lungs to your bloodstream, and lastly there is cell to cell migration.

With the larger particles that you see as dust on your car and soot coming out of a stack, our respiratory systems are designed to take that size dust and soot out of the air that we breathe. These nano particles are not normally made in nature but are man made. Hence we don't have a natural defense system to deal with them.

Kids and older people are the most at risk from breathing this. Kids, because they have a higher respiratory rate than adults, and also because their bodies are still developing. Older people are at risk because of weakened immune systems, poor health, and many already have respiratory problems.

I heard the director of a Boys and Girls club next to where the plant was going to be built say that he wasn't worried about the emissions, that the building was a closed system. The trouble is that there is no filter made that I've found will stop these nano particles from coming into a building or car. Remember the old adage, "It's what you don't see that will kill you."

I've answered this question somewhat, but more than that is how many more questions does it make you want and need to ask? I have an Electrical Engineering background so I'm not that versed in the chemistry and compounds that will be emitted. Also, I do not have a health background, which more people will respond to. As a result, I do not claim to be any expert on this topic. We do have access to both Allegheny and Edinboro Universities and their professors. We should work at getting Physicians and Professors involved, both for their knowledge, and for credibility when we attempt to inform the public of the dangers that this plant presents.

I will not make a statement unless I can back it up with a link to where I have found the information. Unlike Rubino, we need to have our facts correct and proven. The newspaper will question us if we make a misstatement. Rubino, being the used car salesman that he is, never was challenged by the media for his false claims.

Dennis Stratton