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BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE January
15, 2002 Dear Mr. Landis: On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, I write to comment on the proposed Title V permit for Stericycle, Inc. General Comments The state of North Carolina cannot at present ensure that medical waste incinerators are operated without threatening public health and the environment. Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League is working with our members to end pollution from commercial medical waste incineration in two North Carolina communities: Matthews in Mecklenburg County and Haw River in Alamance. Medical waste incinerators are the second largest known source of dioxin in the United States. Health effects of prolonged dioxin exposure include impairment of immune, nervous and endocrine systems. Dioxin is a known human carcinogen. In addition to dioxin, toxic air pollutants from medical waste incinerators include arsenic, chromium IV, cadmium, lead, hydrochloric acid, and mercury. Medical waste incinerators are even bigger polluters than other types of waste burners; North Carolina permits medical waste incinerators to emit 60% more cadmium, 108% more dioxin, and 580% more mercury than solid waste incinerators. Overloading the Incinerator Stericycle is permitted to burn 1,911 pounds per hour in each of the two units, a total of 33,480,720 pounds of medical waste a year. Investigations by the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League show that the company exceeded its allowable burn rate eight times in a five months period during 2000. Stericycle’s operators overloading waste by as much as 11% over the maximum, oftentimes between the hours of midnight and 7:00 AM. In November 2000 the state recommended civil penalties for five episodes of excess waste burning in the incinerator. But Stericycle said the computer system which recorded the weight violations was only a “billing tool for accounting purposes,” and that the hand written operating logs recorded no excess weights. After issuing a series of violations to Stericycle, North Carolina’s Division of Air Quality, which can levy fines of $10,000 per violation, opted to let the company off the hook. No fines were imposed. Failed Stack Tests Stericycle’s must test its incinerators periodically to demonstrate compliance with pollution limits. In October 2000 Stericycle submitted test results which indicated that state and federal standards were met. But the Division of Air Quality discovered “computational errors” in the report filed by Stericycle which falsely indicated compliance with the particulate matter (PM) standard. The incinerator had actually emitted PM 5.4% above the maximum. Each day of operation over the limit makes the operator subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per day. In February DAQ issued a notice of violation and recommended enforcement. In March Stericycle employed the same testing firm, Custom Stack Analysis, Inc., to repeat the PM emission test and analysis. This time the results indicated a PM emission rate in compliance with state regulation. The DAQ, upon reviewing the data, levied a fine of only $4,000. The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League is on record asking for a further, independent verification of the test results at Stericycle. We question the validity of emissions tests for dioxins and furans— two highly toxic products of waste combustion. Medical waste incinerators are known to emit high levels of dioxin, but the October 2000 test results for dioxin were below detection limits, virtually zero. Even one state official remarked that non-detection of dioxin was “surprising.” Specific Comments Excess Emissions The draft permit Section 3.F requires that pollution control devices be operated at all times to reduce air pollution.
However, plant neighbors report that they observe frequent use of the bypass stack. State and federal regulations prohibit the circumventing of air pollution control devices. Compliance with NAAQS would not be possible without control devices. For example, particulate matter is typically reduced by 93% to 99.9% by common pollution control devices. Operation without such a device would result in actual emissions would be from 100 to 1000 times higher than permitted. DAQ Inspection Reports reveal that no records of bypass stack use or precautions to minimize bypass are kept by Stericycle (NCDAQ WSRO Inspection Report 08/15/2001 attached). Under these circumstances, operation of the bypass stack is a violation of both state and federal regulations. The state cannot permit an ongoing violation.
Enforcement is Lacking The DAQ must rely on complaints from citizens to enforce regulations which limit visible emissions and odor [15A NCAC 2D .0521 and .1806]. However, DAQ’s record on Stericycle reveals a lack of will or ability to respond to plant neighbor’s complaints. I submit the following examples drawn from DAQ files:
These are but two examples of poor enforcement which can and must be corrected. Visible emissions regulations are federally enforceable, odor rules state enforceable. Since DAQ will continue to rely on calls from residents to ensure compliance with VE and odor, the permit must stipulate where and how citizens complaints shall be recorded, what actions shall be initiated by DAQ, and a time frame for resolution of the complaint. Procurement
and Waste Management Permit condition 2.1.A.1.d)(5) stipulates that Stericycle must comply with 40 CFR 60.55c which requires a management plan. The EPA medical waste MACT rule requires hospitals that operate incinerators to have medical waste management plans (see Attachment 1: FR48347-8, 9/15/97). To prevent circumvention of the requirement to control toxic emissions with waste management controls, Stericycle should not accept waste from any hospital that does not have a waste management plan as outlined in the MACT rule. This should be stipulated in the Title V permit. Respectfully, Louis Zeller 1)
Federal Register Document HMIWI Waste Management
Plans-Final Rule 2) DAQ
Inspection Report 8/15/01 (1) [Federal
Register: September 15, 1997 (Volume 62,
Number 178)] [Rules and Regulations]
[Page 48347-48391] From the Federal
Register Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr15se97-10]
[[Page 48347]] "Therefore,
the final HMIWI standards and guidelines
require that health care facilities which
operate incinerators develop and
implement a waste management plan. The waste
management plan would identify both the
feasibility and the approach to separate
certain components of solid waste from
the health care waste stream in order to
reduce the amount of toxic emissions from
incinerated waste. The waste management
plan may include elements such as paper,
cardboard, plastics, glass, battery, or
metal recycling; or purchasing recycled
or recyclable products. A waste
management plan may include different
goals or approaches for different areas
or departments of the facility and need
not include new waste management goals
for every waste stream. It should
identify, where possible, reasonably
available additional waste management
measures, taking into account the
effectiveness of waste management
measures already in place, the costs of
additional measures, the emission
reductions expected to be achieved, and
any other environmental or energy impacts
they might have. A copy of the waste
management plan would be submitted to EPA
along with the results of the initial
performance test demonstrating compliance
with the emission limits. In addition,
the waste management plan may be reviewed
by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Health Care Organizations during the
accreditation process. Health care
facilities are encouraged to review and
incorporate into their waste management
plans the waste minimization techniques
discussed in ``An Ounce of Prevention:
Waste Reduction Strategies for Health
Care Facilities,'' which is published by
the American Society for Health Care
Environmental Services of the American
Hospital Association. This document may
be obtained by contacting AHA Services,
Inc., P.O. Box 92683, Chicago, Illinois
60675-2683, or by calling 800-242-2626.
The cost of the document is $50.00 plus
$10.95 for shipping and handling. The
document is available for public
inspection at EPA's Air and Radiation
Docket and Information Center (Docket
A-91-61, item IV-J-124). See the
ADDRESSES section at the beginning of
this preamble for the location of the
Docket. Note that because of copyright
law, this document may not be copied.
This document was approved for
incorporation by reference by the
Director of the Federal Register in
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR
part 51." ______________________________
Part II Environmental
Protection Agency ______________________________
40
CFR Part 60 Standards of
Performance for New Stationary
Sources and Emission Guidelines
for Existing Sources:
Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste
Incinerators; Final Rule
[[Page 48348]] ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 60
[AD-FRL-5878-8] RIN 2060-AC62
Standards of Performance for New
Stationary Sources and Emission
Guidelines for Existing Sources:
Hospital/Medical/Infectious Waste
Incinerators AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). ACTION: Final rule. -----------------------------------------
SUMMARY:
This action promulgates new source
performance standards (NSPS or standards)
and emission guidelines (EG or
guidelines) to reduce air emissions from
hospital/medical/infectious waste
incinerator(s) (HMIWI) by adding subpart
Ec, standards of performance for new
HMIWI, and subpart Ce, emission
guidelines for existing HMIWI, to 40 CFR
part 60. The standards and guidelines
implement sections 111 and 129 of the
Clean Air Act (CAA) as amended in 1990.
The standards and guidelines apply to
units whose primary purpose is the
combustion of hospital waste and/or
medical/infectious waste. Sources are
required to achieve emission levels
reflecting the maximum degree of
reduction in emissions of air pollutants
that the Administrator has determined is
achievable, taking into consideration the
cost of achieving such emission
reduction, any nonair-quality health and
environmental impacts, and energy
requirements. The promulgated standards
and guidelines establish emission limits
for particulate matter (PM), opacity,
sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrogen chloride
(HCl), oxides of nitrogen (NOX), carbon
monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd),
mercury (Hg), dioxins and dibenzofurans
(dioxins/furans), and fugitive ash
emissions. Some of the pollutants being
regulated are considered to be
carcinogens and at sufficient
concentrations can cause toxic effects
following exposure. The standards and
guidelines also establish requirements
for HMIWI operator
training/qualification, waste management
plans, and testing/monitoring of
pollutants and operating parameters.
Additionally, the guidelines for existing
HMIWI contain equipment inspection
requirements and the standards for new
HMIWI include siting requirements. BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE January 22, 2002
I write to provide
additional comments on the proposed Title V
permit for Stericycle and to make some specific
recommendations. First, as you are aware, we at
BREDL are gravely concerned about the use of the
bypass stack at the incinerator. Recommendation
1: The bypass stack should be tested for all
emissions in the initial performance tests of the
incinerator. Recommendation 2: Continuous
emission monitoring of the bypass stack should be
a requirement for continued incinerator
operation. We believe that
the toxic air pollutant modeling is incomplete.
Recommendation 3: Toxic emissions from the bypass
stack and the backup diesel generator should be
included. Any other toxic emissions omitted from
the modeling should be included in a
facility-wide model. Confirmatory
testing is incomplete. Recommendation 4: Air
monitors should be a permanent requirement for
the Stericycle incinerator, to include one or
more monitors in the points of greatest impact
identified by a facility-wide model and to
include offsite air monitors also in the area of
greatest modeled impact and in other offsite
locations. The affected community should
participate in the air monitoring program.
Recommendation 5: Confirmatory tests for dioxins
should be a requirement, to include soil testing,
water testing, milk and tissue testing.
Recommendation 6: Confirmatory tests for mercury
should be required — both at the modeled
greatest impact area and offsite. We believe that
the affected community residents have not had an
adequate opportunity to review Stericycle’s
waste management plan; therefore, we request an
extended comment period for public review and
comment on the plan. At a minimum, the plan
should comply with the most stringent federal
requirements for incinerators. Recommendation 7:
Stericycle should not be allowed to incinerate
wastes from any public, private, or commercial
source which does not have a waste management
plan. Recommendation 8: Wastes containing
polyvinyl chloride should be categorically
excluded from the Stericycle incinerator.
Recommendation 9: All manifests for medical and
infectious wastes should be accessible for public
review, perhaps in files in the Winston-Salem
Regional Office of DENR. Partly because of
problems with earlier stack tests and partly
because of generic stack test limitations, state
regulators and the public need to know what
wastes are being incinerated during the testing.
Recommendation 10: Through source codes,
manifests and other means, the constituency of
wastes burned during stack tests should be
identified and characterized. For example, what
percentage of the waste is liquid or solid, paper
or plastic, etc? Unpleasant, even
noxious odors continue to be present offsite.
Recommendation 11: Stericycle should implement an
odor reduction regimen which does not add
additional toxins to emissions. Problems persist
on weekends and at night at the facility. Odors
and emissions are greater at these times.
Recommendation 12: A permanent onsite inspector
to be paid by the state with funds provided by
Stericycle should be hired. Thank you for your
consideration of these additional comments. Sincerely,
Title V Fact
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