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Interested parties have until Jan. 9 to provide input on regs affecting Hayden, Miami copper smelters
Asarco’s Hayden Smelter
Citizens and businesses have the opportunity to comment on proposed rules drafted by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) for significantly decreasing the release two types of pollutants from copper smelters in Hayden and Miami to within federal regulations adopted since 2008.
The rules are aimed at reducing the release of airborne lead dust from the Hayden smelter (owned by ASARCO) and the release of sulfur dioxide from the smelters in Hayden and Miami (the latter owned by Freeport-McMoRan) in order to protect the public health and environment. They cover the use of specific control technologies and include recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
ADEQ opened the comment period on December 5. Interested parties will have until January 9, 2017 to file comments on the proposed rules, after which ADEQ will hold a public hearing to address any concerns and draft the final rules. Once finalized, the rules will be submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for incorporation in Arizona’s State Implementation Plan as required under Section 110 of the Clean Air Act.
Should ADEQ not produce these rules, EPA has the right under the Clean Air Act to draft and impose their own.
The need for the new ADEQ rulemaking began in 2008 when EPA revised its air quality standards for lead (last updated in 1979), strengthening them by nearly 90%. The new maximum allowable level of lead in ambient air is a rolling three-month average of 0.15 micrograms per cubic meter evaluated over a three-year period. In implementing the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), EPA conducted a technical analysis in 2010 in the Gila and Pinal County townships around the Hayden smelter and decreed it in 2014 a nonattainment area in need of improvement.
EPA in 2010 likewise revised the allowable level of sulfur dioxide emissions to 75 parts per billion per hour. Subsequent testing found both the Hayden and Miami areas to be not in compliance and were thus declared nonattainment areas around them.
In adopting the more stringent rules, EPA cited the negative health effects of those two pollutants. Breathing airborne lead dust can impair the sensory, motor and cognitive skills of developing children; and can impair the memory and visual skills of adults, as well as increase the likelihood of heart attacks. Breathing high levels of sulfur dioxide can damage the lungs, and cause asthma and other respiratory problems.
A substantial portion of ADEQ’s proposed rules cover the control of “fugitive lead dust.” Lead is found in the same ore holding copper and can be released during the smelting process as dust that can settle atop the areas around a smelter. For this reason, the rules would require ASARCO to daily sweep vacuum or use a wet broom on paved areas around the smelter compound to remove lead dust, and to spread dust suppressant on unpaved roads at least once a week. Vehicles traveling over these roads cannot exceed 15 m.p.h. and must be frequently cleaned. Wind fences are mandated.
During high wind events, rules note when smelter operations must stop to avoid widespread lead dust dispersal. Equipping the facility with an Acid Plant Scrubber Blowdown Dryer System is to be required.
The smelter compound must be equipped with ambient lead monitors, and samples collected must be retained a minimum six days.
For sulfur dioxide containment, ADEQ proposes regulations governing furnace ventilators, filtering systems, and the installation of monitors to record sulfur dioxide concentrations with the compound. Contingency measures are to be implemented if an area fails to attain EPA standards.
ADEQ further proposes stringent measurement and recordkeeping requirements for both pollutants.
For their part, both ASARCO and Freeport-McMoRan proposed expensive upgrades to their copper smelters in early 2014 to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions as ADEQ was working on these proposed rules.
To meet the new EPA sulfur dioxide standards, ASARCO launched a converter retrofit program to replace the smelter’s five 13-ft. diameter converters with three 15-ft. diameter converters, install improved primary and secondary hoods, and an electrostatic precipitator for solids removal prior to recapturing sulfur dioxide in acid baths. Larger ladles (300 cu. Ft. instead of 200 cu. Ft.) will be installed to reduce the number of hot metal transfers. As a result, ASARCO said, about 99.7% of all sulfur dioxide produced during the copper smelting process would be removed.
Freeport-McMoRan also is upgrading the Miami smelter with new converter mouth covers, converter aisle canopy hoods and aisle scrubbers; an anode bag house, and an upgrade smelter furnace.
A complete copy of the proposed rules can be viewed online at www.azdeq.gov. They also can be viewed at the ADEQ Records Center, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007 by appointment by phoning (602) 771-4380 or (800) 234-5677 ext. 6027714380. Locally the proposed rules can be viewed at the Hayden Senior Center, 520 Velasco Ave., Hayden, AZ 85135, phone: (520) 356-7036; and at the Miami Memorial Library, 282 S. Adonis Ave., Miami, AZ 85539, phone: (928) 473-2567.
Comments on the Hayden Lead rules should be mailed, faxed or emailed to Natalie Muilenberg, fax: (602) 771-2299, email: nm3@azdeq.gov. Comments on the Hayden and Miami Sulfur Dioxide rules should be mailed, faxed or emailed to Lisa Tomczak, fax: (602) 771-2299, email: lt5@azdeq.gov. Both have the mailing address of Air Quality Division, Air Quality Improvement Planning Section. AZEQ. 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. All comments must be postmarked by January 9, 2017.
Public hearings for the Hayden and Miami Sulfur Dioxide rules will be held on January 9 at 2 p.m. in Room 3175 at ADEQ, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix.
Public hearings on the Hayden Lead rules will be held January 10 at 2 p.m.in Room 3175 at ADEQ, 1110 W. Washington St., Phoenix.
James J. Hodl is a career journalist who has worked for newspapers, magazines and trade journals. A graduate of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, Hodl began his career as a reporter with the Palatine (IL) Herald and the Morton Grove (IL) Review before becoming editor of the trade publication Appliance Service News. In recent years, Hodl has had articles published in Consumers Digest, Good Housekeeping, Home Remodeling, Kitchens & Baths and Salute; and has contributed to trade publications serving the home furnishings, restaurant and casino markets. A native of Chicago, Hodl relocated to San Tan Valley in 2013.
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