by Wade Rawlins, Staff Writer
Neighbors of hazardous waste storehouses should get regular notices,
and the facilities should have 24-security or electronic fire detection
systems, according to a task force convened by the governor.
North
Carolina has 11 commercial hazardous waste storage warehouses that
receive truckloads of spent chemicals from manufacturers and
laboratories, consolidate them and ship them to incinerators, landfills
and recyclers in other states. One of them, Environmental Quality in
Apex, erupted in a fireball in October, forcing the evacuation of
thousands of residents and highlighting some gaps in current regulation.
Gov.
Mike Easley appointed the task force with representatives from state
and local emergency response, public health and environmental agencies
and asked for a report by mid-December. The task force's report will
recommend that the governor ask the General Assembly to tighten the law
in a number of ways.
"One
of the biggest considerations involved the consequences of these
facilities being sited in areas that are highly urbanizing
communities," said Dempsey Benton, deputy secretary of the Department
of Environment and Natural Resources and co-chairman of the panel.
"Clearly, there is an intent to increase general public awareness of
these special facilities and increase the level of engagement of local
governments in the contingency planning."
Residents
and businesses within a quarter-mile of the facilities would receive a
notice in the mail every two and a half years about the facility's
activities and when the permit is up for renewal or major modification,
under the recommendations. Currently, the facilities are required to
provide a public notice of permit change.
Rob
Thompson, an advocate for N.C. PIRG, a group that advocates for
consumer protection and clean air and water, urged the task force to go
further. He said all residents within one mile of the facilities should
be notified.
"There
are residences around many of these plants," Thompson said. "We have
people making $100,000, $200,000 and $300,000 investments in property
when they don't know they'll be living within a mile of one of these
facilities.
"I believe the state of ignorance is absolutely unacceptable and could lead to loss of life if not corrected," he said.
The
task force's recommendations also include 24-hour security by trained
hazardous waste personnel or electronic fire detection systems at the
warehouses and more frequent inspections as the number of people living
nearby increases.
The
task force compromised on a recommendation from the state Division of
Waste Management to require trained hazardous waste personnel at the
facilities 24 hours a day.
"I
can't see how it would really help," Tim McQueen, operations manager
for ECOFLO in Greensboro, told the task force in response to questions
about requiring around-the-clock staffing. "If you have somebody on
site physically, is that different than having electronic systems that
are triggered immediately?"
The
task force agreed to a compromise recommendation that facilities have
trained personnel or advanced fire detection equipment acceptable to
state regulators.
Dexter
Matthews, director of the Division of Waste Management, which proposed
24-hour security by trained personnel, said personnel on site might be
able to stop an uncontrolled chemical reaction from turning into a fire.
Among other recommendations:
*
Requiring waste warehouses to get comments from local fire departments
on the adequacy of the plan. Currently they're simply required to send
them a copy.
*
Requiring greater financial assurance by the facilities to pay the
state's cost for cleanups and screening for off-site contamination in
the event of fire.
* Renewing permits on a five- year cycle rather than every 10 years, to increase scrutiny of facilities.
*
Requiring facilities to maintain a backup copy of data about hazardous
waste off-site so firefighters can get it easily in an emergency.
The task force will meet again Dec. 12 to finalize its recommendations
