Corporate Campaigns
JUNE 2004
CINCINNATI SPECIALTIES ASSURES GREATER SAFETY TO NEIGHBORS
Cincinnati Specialties Inc. in May 2004 led its Community Advisory Panel on a tour of its newly constructed and on-line chlorine enclosure building. This fulfills one of its promises, made in 2000, to neighbors who were concerned over the company's record of several major chlorine spills. The company imports chlorine, 18,000 pounds at a time by railcar, for use in its manufacturing processes. The containment building greatly reduces the risk of a major spill of the deadly chemical. In the event of a spill or leak, sensors in the building would trip, causing doors and vents to automatically close, sealing in the spilled chemical. The chlorine would be captured, and returned to safe storage. The building is also equipped with a scrubber that will neutralize any chlorine fumes within the enclosure.
We hope that CSI will allow its design to be used as a model by other companies that import large quantities of the highly hazardous chemical.
MARCH 2004
Cincinnati Specialties, Inc.(CSI) has been a concern to its community neighbors for many years. The issues outside of the fence have been basically two: chlorine safety and other odors.
Chlorine : CSI management originally promised that a chlorine enclosure building would be on-line in 2000. As of the March, 2004 CSI Community Advisory Committee (CAP), the chlorine enclosure building construction was completed, and the operators are soon to begin their training. This four year delay is incomprehensible. If the chlorine poses a threat today, it certainly has been one for many years.
Let us hope this training takes place soon and the community threat of a worst-case-scenario is greatly reduced from fourteen miles of corrosive, toxic, and reactive fumes to one of less than a mile.
Odors: Basically, two odors emitted from the plant are of concern to the community. These odors waft from their origin in St. Bernard and into several City of Cincinnati neighborhoods The first is from a rust inhibiting product, toly-triazole/benzotriazole, (TT/BT), and the second, methoanthranolate (MA), is used in the production of Saccharin. Both are the subject of many complaints to Hamilton County Department Environmental Services (DES). While neither TT/BT nor MA is deemed to be harmful, remember that only those chemicals which are proven to be toxic are of governmental concern. However, bioassays of benzotriazole indicate that cancers were produced in three of five experimental groups of rats and mice. These ?equivocal? studies were made with subject injection of BT. There are no studies of BT inhalation or developmental (children's) vulnerability. At the very least, both of these odors are extreme nuisances. They are similar to the nose except that MA has a hint of grape. There is evidence that they are often confused as the complaint works itself through a cumbersome complaint process. (A study is underway high-lighting this cumbersome complaint process from 2003.).But while the reader waits, consider a more recent complaint from March 9, 2004 .
(MA) complaint at Cincinnati Specialties
HCDOES Complaint# 0069-04. Chad Powell responded to a North Avondale odor complaint and verified it as coming from CSI. The date was March 9, 2004 . The complaint was made at 6:34 PM , and he ended up at Cincinnati Specialties (CSI) at 7:25 PM. Jack Sumner, CSI supervisor, quoted from the responder's report:
??did not know of any upsets or anomalies in the operation at the time of the complaint. Odor seemed to originate from the MA section towards the back (south end) of the plant. There were 12 barrels of MA residue sitting open in that end of the plant. The residue is removed from the unit at around 160 degrees and allowed to cool down before being capped.?
At the March 23 rd CAP meeting, management reported the odor and stated barrels were simply and inadvertently not covered by sand, and CSI is constantly seeking better ways to decrease the odors. But which odor is which?
As of April 5 th , the DOES supervisor, Mike Kramer, stated that no follow-up had been done with the complaint, but it would be part of scheduled discussions with CSI involving that, Title V, etc.
This is a copy of a letter regarding odor complaints surrounding the Cincinnati Specialties (CSI) plant in St. Bernard.