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Please also fill out the petition below so Clean Air Council can track your engagement. Please be sure to include your full name, address and phone number in your email to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Comments are due Monday, March 4th.
Subject: PA0051713
The Evonik Corporation discharges industrial wastewater directly into the Delaware River from its facility in Chester, PA and clear steps can be taken to reduce its harmful impact on the region’s water quality. Evonik produces silica by mixing sodium silicate with sulfuric acid and when the silica is filtered from this liquid, the generated wastewater is discharged into the Delaware River. Unfortunately, Evonik does not test its discharged wastewater for sulfuric acid which is extremely corrosive and damages anything it comes into contact with. Local air monitoring conducted by Johns Hopkins University also detected high levels of formaldehyde from the Evonik facility which increases the likelihood that there could be formaldehyde in Evonik’s water discharges. Formaldehyde air emissions are likely evaporating from the industrial wastewater that Evonik attempts to treat to reduce the pollutants discharged in water. For this reason, the recorded air emissions of formaldehyde are likely associated with wastewater discharges of formaldehyde.
Unfortunately, Evonik does not test its discharged water for formaldehyde or sulfuric acid. Formaldehyde is classified as a probable human carcinogen from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The temperature of Evonik’s wastewater discharges increases the likelihood that there are significant levels of sulfuric acid in its discharged water. When sulfuric acid dissolves in water, it raises the temperature. In December 2023 and January 2024, Evonik discharged wastewater with a temperature over 90℉ even though that water was never heated and Evonik claims to have cooled it. Most water discharge temperature standards are related to water used to cool down boilers which Evonik does not do. There is no reason for Evonik to discharge water over 90℉ in winter and in its actual National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit renewal application the winter discharge temperature is listed as 55℉ and 75℉. DEP’s 110℉ water discharge limit is intended to apply to cooling water and is an inappropriate standard for this facility. The high temperature of Evonik’s discharged water is further cause for DEP to require Evonik to test its discharged wastewater for sulfuric acid.
The vast majority of this facility is located within the 100-year floodplain. A chemical manufacturing facility using sulfuric acid in the 100-year floodplain is a massive threat to the Delaware River and the surrounding Environmental Justice (EJ) community. Further concerning, in August of 2023, Evonik received violations from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for failing to follow storage tank containment requirements and for failing to prevent tanks from corroding.
Evonik has also reported discharges of lead in water that are close to DEP’s standards for lead in drinking water. DEP’s actionable level of lead in drinking water is .015 milligrams per liter (mg/l) and Evonik reported water discharges with .012 mg/l of lead in its current water discharge permit renewal application. The EPA has concluded that there is no safe level of lead consumption because lead can damage the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive and developmental systems and the cardiovascular system.
In order to protect local public health, DEP must require Evonik to test its discharged wastewater for sulfuric acid and formaldehyde and establish a discharge limit for lead pollution in Evonik’s discharged water.
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