The smoke plume rises in the air far ahead up the highway. You keep driving for miles, and the plume gets closer. Finally, you see the top of the giant smokestack the plume is billowing out of. As you start to pass the plant to the left of the highway, you notice a long, thin, covered wood structure that runs about a half mile from the other side of the highway and up to the building the smokestack is on. Welcome to the Capital District. Albany, New York, and home of the LaFarge Cement Plant in Selkirk.
For years, I used the plume of smoke as the sign I was almost back home. The long building transported coal to fuel the giant furnaces inside the cement plant. I would hold my breath as long as I could while I sped up to pass the plant as quickly as possible. That turned out to be a smart idea.
Cement plants in the U.S. churn out millions of pounds of cement every year. What else they churn out in the process is a whole other story. Historically, the cement industry is less regulated than other industries in the U.S. Perhaps some of the reason may be the support the industry gives to politicians who work in their favor. According to documents obtained from the Federal Election Commission, a single political action committee run by CalPortland Cement, had over $105,000 cash on hand in December, 2018 to use.
Cement plants are part of what supplies our country with needed materials for building and maintaining infrastructure while creating jobs for locals in those communities. Unfortunately, a cement plant makes for a horrible neighbor. Whether residents are employed by the plant or not, they and all their family members have to deal with the environmental risks and negative health effects the plants typically cause. Communities hosting cement plants get far more than their share of pollution.
Many cement plants still use coal to fire their furnaces in the manufacturing process. Burning coal to power huge furnaces is a major source of mercury. Coal contains mercury and other hazardous air pollutants that are emitted when the coal is burned in cement plants. Mercury is one of the more toxic substances emitted by these plants. Mercury is toxic to the central nervous system. Inhaling mercury also harms the immune and digestive system as well as the lungs and kidneys. Pregnant women and children are especially at risk.
It was estimated by the EPA that 23,000 pounds of mercury was emitted by the industry in 2006. In Ravena, New York, the Lafarge Cement Plant was the second largest polluter of mercury in the state, emitting 400 pounds. In the nearby community, the people who were tested for mercury had levels in their bodies well above the national average. In fact, a study done by the Harvard University School of Public Health showed almost one person in every ten had elevated levels of mercury high enough to warrant a visit to their doctor.
The process of making cement creates an enormous amount of residue known as cement kiln dust (CKD). The main ingredients to make cement are calcium, silicon, aluminum, and iron in addition to other trace ingredients. For instance, the manufacturing of the most popular type of cement, Portland cement, produces CKD that may also contain small amounts of calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, potassium sulfate, and sodium sulfate, which are considered hazardous (and the case of crystalline silica, carcinogenic) as well as amounts below 0.1% of chromium salts or compounds (including hexavalent chromium, which is also considered carcinogenic) or other metals (including nickel compounds).
The industry group says, “Cement is so fine that 1 pound of cement contains 150 billion grains.” All around the cement plant, CKD is in the air and covers everything in a fine coating. A person could drive their newly washed car in to work in the morning, and by the afternoon, it could need another wash.
CKD has certain components that make this dust especially harmful when inhaled, the most dangerous of which is crystalline silica, a known carcinogen. The workers at the plant are constantly covered in the dust, but neighborhoods nearby are subjected to much of the dust as well.
Many of the cement plants across the country are turning to other fuels to supplement coal. The entire reason is cost-driven. When the cost of alternate fuel is less than the coal, they will burn anything they can. There are very few types of waste the industry will turn away. Some cost them very little money, and others they get paid money to take. Sometimes, it is not about how much energy the plant can get from the fuel but how much can they get paid to take it from someone needing to get rid of it.
The industry likes to keep quiet about what it is burning at their plants because these items can be trash or even toxic. If people realized these materials were being burned, they would likely object. As long as the plant operator has secured the needed permits to burn what they want to, they do not need to inform the town what they are burning, and there is very little the community can do to stop them. What the community doesn’t know in this case may very well be hurting them. There are several favorite alternative fuels the cement industry likes.
Tires are a popular alternative as they may even generate income from their disposal. Also, because of the high level of petroleum in tires, they make wonderful fuel. The fumes, however, are quite toxic.
Pollution equipment such as air scrubbers and filters do reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air. However, considering how much toxic emissions are produced, even after scrubbing, there are still alarming quantities emitted. For some chemicals such as cadmium and aluminum, the amount released is substantially above safe levels. Particulate matter, especially the smaller 2.5 micron size, the most harmful, is measured in tons. Dioxins are not entirely removed and sent into the air as emissions despite the fact that, according to the EPA, even the smallest exposure to dioxin is hazardous to humans.
Solid waste is another revenue stream cement plants use. With the difficulty of finding a site for new solid waste incinerators, cement plants have positioned themselves as an alternative disposal site. An increasing number have contracts with major cities and towns to burn their garbage. With landfill space at a premium and filling up, getting rid of trash to cement companies to burn as fuel is seen as a victory, except for the people living anywhere near the plant.
In Ravena, New York, LaFarge Industries, the same cement plant that spewed toxic chemicals including mercury over the community for years has quietly been talking with the city of Hartford, Connecticut, in an attempt to bring solid waste from Hartford to burn in the cement plant as fuel. LaFarge denied for months the idea was even on the table until a letter was released by the EPA showing LaFarge had been deceiving the public. The letter also showed LaFarge is seeking to burn old tires as well.
The same logic applies for sewage sludge. There are only a few options for sewage sludge disposal, all of them fairly costly. While the cheapest disposal method has always been land application, letting cement plants burn it as fuel is seen as a reasonable alternative.. The heavy metals contained and concentrated in the sludge increase the emissions for certain dangerous chemicals such as mercury and zinc. Sewage sludge may also have trace amounts of radiation from fracking waste now being disposed through the treatment plants. Cheap fuel, though, is the first consideration of the cement plant.
The most frightening alternative fuel is hazardous waste. The most toxic and potent mix of chemical soup is used as fuel for the cement plant. Incomplete combustion, inadequate air filters, and lack of emissions monitoring combine to create a dangerous situation. At the same time, this is one of the biggest money makers for the cement plant operator.
There are rules and regulations that control hazardous waste disposal. Somehow, cement plants were given a special classification that allows them to burn hazardous wastes and emit even more toxic chemicals and pollution into the air than an incinerator built specifically for burning hazardous waste is allowed to emit. As a result, cement plants are using industrial solvents, old chemicals, paint sludges, and pharmaceutical waste as fuel. Because there is a steady supply of over 20 million tons of hazardous wastes needing disposal each year, there is plenty more where that came from.
In the town of Chanute, Kansas, the residents live under a cloud of hazardous emissions pumped out by the cement plant. The plant is allowed to emit much more lead, cadmium, chlorine gas, and particulate matter than actual hazardous waste incinerators. They are not the only cement plant allowed to pollute like this either. Over a dozen others get a free pass from the EPA thanks to the loophole gifted to the cement industry.
For the most part, if something has BTU value like old oil, industrial solvents, or old millings, some cement plants will burn it.
In the town of Glens Falls, New York, the cement plant received their permits to start burning paper and plastic waste. Plastic creates dioxins when burned, and the emissions from the plant contain not only dioxin but additional toxic compounds as well. The state’s Department of Environmental Conservation is allowing the cement plant to monitor and report their own emissions once every 30 months. The DEC actually stated their reason for allowing the additional pollution from the plant is the area is too clean and has room for more toxic air pollution before it reaches the point of an unhealthy level.
To reiterate, the state is allowing a company to pump more toxic pollution in the air because there is room for more. Unfortunately, this is not a typo.
In addition to CKD, which by itself presents inhalation hazards and respiratory issues, there are a number of other particles generated by the other materials the plant uses in its operation. For instance, toxic fly ash, dust kicked up from trucks and equipment moving around, is constantly present. Other materials added to the cement kiln such as lime, silica sand and fly ash, some of which are caustic and need to be handled carefully sit in piles around the yard and also create dust and particles as they too blow around.
Once the cement is finished, it needs to be bagged and packed. Clouds of dust rise from every corner and building of the site. Even after hours, if the plant closes overnight, there are still particles in the air. Studies done by Cook Children’s Hospital have shown increases in asthma, especially in children who live in communities near cement plants. The EPA also says the emissions from these plants contribute to smog and can lead to childhood asthma. Exposure to particulate matter pollution and soot, is a well-known known cause for asthma. It can also make a child’s asthma worse.
In Midlothian, Texas, a recent study analyzed data from a survey the Cook Children’s Hospital previously conducted on regional childhood health issues. The results of the study confirmed the higher levels of childhood asthma were directly associated with the presence and concentrations of three Midlothian cements plants just over the county line. The people working on the study tracked the direction of the plume of pollution from the plants. The highest concentrations of the asthma cases recorded occurred in the neighborhoods and areas that were directly in the pathway. Those were where the highest levels of pollution and particulate matter from the cement plants passed over.
When a cement plant exploded in Boston, dust from the explosion covered a school bus yard next door. Thousands of pounds of slag dust sent 61 people to the hospital. Burning in the eyes and throat in addition to shortness of breath were reported by those admitted. The dust was also thought to contain beryllium, and those exposed may have been poisoned. Inhaling airborne beryllium may cause irreversible lung damage. Similar to silicosis, CBD scars the lungs, causing shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue and other symptoms.
Heavy exposure to beryllium even for a short period of time can lead to acute beryllium disease, which causes symptoms similar to pneumonia or bronchitis.
According to the EPA, the cement sector is the third largest industrial source of pollution, emitting more than 500,000 tons per year or 1 billion pounds of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide. As a major emitter of these three harmful chemicals the cement industry contributes substantially to the harm of people living near the facilities.
All three of these chemicals cause a variety of health problems. Nitrogen oxide can cause damage to lung tissue in people who work or play outside. Children especially are affected.
Sulfur dioxide when present in high concentrations can aggravate breathing issues in people with respiratory problems as well as cardiovascular problems. People with asthma, bronchitis and emphysema are especially at risk from increased attacks and symptoms.
Carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to the body’s organs and tissues and has adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and the body’s central nervous system. Carbon monoxide especially increases ground level ozone, which affects breathing, especially in children and elderly people.
The EPA states emissions of metal compounds from Portland cement kilns include mercury, thallium, antimony, cadmium, lead, selenium, zinc, potassium, sodium, barium, chromium, arsenic, nickel, vanadium, manganese, copper, and silver. Add that to the already toxic emissions from normal kiln operations, the remnants of the alternative fuels, dioxins, and products of incomplete combustion, and the resulting emissions may be deadlier than the original chemicals burned in the first place. Science Direct, referencing a compilation of over 20 peer reviewed studies on cancer rates near cement plants, showed a higher incidence of respiratory system cancers were linked with proximity to cement plants.
What truly is scary is how the EPA sets emission levels. Many times, they use what the industry tells the government the current technology is capable of, not the threshold for toxicity for the surrounding community. Especially older cement kilns are allowed to emit much more based on their technology. The EPA does not require upgrades to equipment if it costs too much to the company. This policy needs as much upgrading as the cement plants.
When residents living close to the cement plant near Selkirk, New York, were asked about possible links between cancer and the plant, the answer was simple. The response was yes: there seemed to be many people with cancer. Ewing’s Sarcoma is a rare bone cancer that affects usually one person out of 500,000. In Selkirk, four children are suffering from it in a county whose population is under 300,000.
The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division calls the cement industry a significant source of air pollution that poses real health threats to the communities they are in. They made this statement after settling with Cemex and five of their plants. Cemex agreed to spend $10 million to reduce pollution at those five plants and were fined an additional $1.67 million.
Cement plants use a toxic waste product from coal-fired power plants called fly ash made out of the residue left from unburned coal as an ingredient in cement. It contains heavy metals such as mercury and a host of toxins. Power plants often give it away because it costs money to dispose of legally. When fly ash is mixed with the cement and heated, it releases mercury into the air, adding to the mercury they’re already emitting by burning coal. The use of fly ash in cement plants really amounts to taking mercury from one place and sending it to another to be emitted in the smokestack. The industry claims they emit much less than in prior years, but it still is in amounts in harmful levels of emissions.
Between 15-30% of the cement ingredients is toxic fly ash. The EPA considers this use of a toxic by-product an allowable use under the beneficial use clause as the cement plants are recycling an otherwise unusable material. Toxic fly ash is also allowed to be used in road construction, fill material for architectural projects, and basically any place they can dispose of it. Because the volume of the fly ash is tremendous, many cement plants create a storage area where tons of toxic fly ash sit until needed for the blending operation. The piles sit open to the winds blowing the particles all over.
In 2007, the EPA announced it was considering regulating coal ash as a hazardous waste. Since that time, a number of powerful industry lobbying organizations have opposed the label for fly ash and other forms of coal ash. After seven years and intense lobbying by the cement and construction industry along with their political friends, the EPA reclassified fly ash as non-hazardous.
Many of the cement plants operating across the country have a track record of violating water pollution regulations. In some cases, highly alkaline water was discharged and caused damage to the ecosystem of the stream it was released into. Spills of acids and discharges of sewage have been documented. Sometimes the violations are simply described as “unidentified material discharged.” What was actually released may never be known.
Chemicals in the form of emissions exceeding the amounts cement plants are allowed to release occur, and unfortunately, they occur too frequently. The release of dozens of toxic chemicals is already legally sent into the air from the smokestack, but thousands of pounds in additional pollutants are regularly sent out as well. Monitoring is very weak, and enforcement is usually much weaker.
On the occasions fines are issued, the amounts penalized are small in comparison with the revenues the companies earn, so the fines may not have the desired effect to force compliance with regulations. In fact, they might just be chalked up as the cost of doing business.
Cement plants make for the very worst type of neighbor. The pollution they emit can’t be escaped. If the amount of dust and particulate matter was the only issue, maybe it would not be so bad. However, with the amount of highly toxic chemicals that are released, negative health effects from living near a cement plant may only be a matter of time. Children deserve to breathe air that is not filled with mercury and other deadly chemicals. Allowing cement plants to burn alternative fuels broadens the list of toxic emissions to include almost all the deadly chemicals of many other industries combined.
In no way would we suggest living in any community that has a cement plant operating or nearby. Even a small plant can emit very large amounts of hazardous pollution. It also too easily could expand into a much bigger operation if allowed. If it expands, it may wish to burn anything it can for fuel. Stay away and look for another place no matter what. All of the other communities that already host one are rife with problems that should be a signal to you.
A minimum of five miles from the cement plant needs to be given to distance yourself from the particulates and other materials emitted. Many cement plants have smokestacks much higher than other factories that allow for the dispersal of the toxic emissions over a much greater distance and area from the plant.