What's in the air we breathe?

Word that four state and federal government agencies decided on their own last year that an open tray burn would be the best way to get rid of a stockpile of millions of pounds of increasingly unstable M6 propellant at Camp Minden didn't immediately trigger alarms.

But when the realization hit and folks like property owner Dolores Blalock began dissecting the components of the M6 pellets and realized the potential amount of cancer-causing toxins that would be released into the atmosphere through an extended open burn of more than 15 million pounds of M6, citizens throughout Northwest Louisiana rose united in opposition to the decision.

Their collective "Stop the Burn" rally cry caused those public agencies to hit the pause button and has led to a fast-tracked process to find a disposal solution that will be safer for health and environment. A citizen-led dialogue committee is set to make a recommendation Wednesday to the government agencies, with the final determination coming March 18.

But even before this region was threatened with a year or more of smoke-filled skies from the proposed M6 open burn at Camp Minden, there was already plenty to be concerned with in the air residents breathe.

Marylee Orr, director of Louisiana Environmental Action Network, a nonprofit group focused on the state's environmental issues, can list off a number of concerns, some of which can be blamed on commercial industry while others are simply naturally occurring.

Calumet Specialty Products emissions, the hydraulic fracturing process that follows oil and gas well drilling throughout the Haynesville Shale area, lignite mining and burning at the AEP-SWEPCO/CLECO plant near Mansfield, paper and pulp mills such as International Paper Co. and even routine open burning of hardwoods and pine forests for vegetation control create emissions release almost on a daily basis, Orr said.

In Greater Shreveport, at times, are elevated levels of ozone. And with new standards coming into play later this year, the city stands to be out of compliance, which is another reason open M6 burning at Camp Minden shouldn't be allowed, she added.

"Camp Minden has been a tremendous awakening for lots of people in North Louisiana who thought they didn't have a lot of environmental problems; that they were all down south," Orr said. "In reality, we hear from people there — not as much as in South Louisiana — but as you can see, folks up there have environmental challenges as well."

But topping environmental activists' list of biggest polluters is Calumet in Shreveport. "Absolutely," said Anne Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which has been involved for years in bringing attention to Calumet's emissions and the plight of its neighbors.

Nearby residents complain of a rotten egg smell. Some even blame the plant for health problems.

Calumet has been fined for its emissions and ordered to make improvements in its controls. A message left Friday with Calumet's media relations to check the company's progress was not immediately returned.

Rolfes is skeptical any changes have been made. "We keep asking."

The facility, she said, would make a good case study on a lack of oversight. Then when there is oversight, a lack of enforcement.

A year ago, a federal judge approved a consent decree requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review and, if necessary, update standards controlling hazardous air pollution from oil refineries, according to Earthjustice, which joined the Environmental Integrity Project in filing a lawsuit challenging the EPA's violation of Clean Air Act requirements on behalf of communities in Louisiana, Texas and California.

The goal is to limit air pollutants at sites across the United States. Final action is due April 17. An inquiry put to David Gray, EPA Region 6 spokesman, about the deadline was not immediately answered Friday.

However, on Thursday, Gray responded to an overall question about EPA's air monitoring requirements. "EPA sets national air quality standards for priority pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Each state's delegated air quality and permitting program must adhere to the federal standards and can be stricter but not less."

The Calumet plant in Shreveport along with the one in Cotton Valley were among 150 oil refineries in 32 states cited by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law organization, reporting a release of at least 20,000 tons of chemicals into the air, all with the potential of causing cancer, breathing problems and smog. According to the report, the Shreveport site reported its emissions at 211,964 tons in 2010 and, in Cotton Valley, 331,726 tons.

Residents living near the Shreveport refinery — somewhat like those in Doyline, Minden and beyond who rallied in opposition to the Camp Minden open burn — began taking their own air measurements and discovered hydrogen sulfide emissions. The toxic chemical has a laundry list of health implications, Rolfes said.

EPA performed a surprise inspection in 2011 and found workers at the plant were becoming "woozy and dizzy" from the chemical. Proper monitors were not in place, which put the workers and area residents at risk, Rolfes said.

"We have no reason to believe the situation has been resolved," she said. "The EPA never took action from the inspection they did … and as far as I know they have not done air monitoring."

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has three air monitors in place in Caddo Parish. One is at Calumet and the others are in Dixie and at the Shreveport Regional Airport. The monitors provide real time data that can chart different pollutants, Langley said.

Calumet has a permit to operate, points out LDEQ spokesman Greg Langley. The plant's permit is evaluated against the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAQS).

In the past 10 years, the Bucket Brigade has documented 143 accidents at Calumet. Rolfes is confident there have been more because the refinery is a "chronic under reporter."

When they do, it's only because Velma White, who lives near the plant, or one of her neighbors "forces them to," Rolfes said. "No one is questioning they are breathing hydrogen sulfide. It's really astonishing they are still exposed to it."

And that's why you have to tip your head to the organizing that evolved from the Camp Minden open burn announcement, she said. For the concerned citizens to achieve such a big step as they have — forcing government agencies to look at alternatives — and to gain the "fervor" of an elected official (state Rep. Gene Reynolds) is almost unheard of in Louisiana.

"I've been doing this since 1999 and it's by far the most impressive organizing I've ever seen," Rolfes said.

One of the scientists also involved in the Camp Minden concerned citizens' movement is Brian Salvatore, a chemist and professor at LSUS. Not only did he raise a red flag about the health and environmental impact from an open burn of M6, but he continues to spread the word about any increase to burning or incineration in the region because of the ground level ozone numbers that may exceed allowable limits once the federal government's new standards are enacted later this year.

"The federal government is going in the other direction. They want to lower it. We are at the top. If they increase it, then we will be above what is mandated by the Clean Air Act. We won't get permitted to get any other heavy industry until we solve that problem," Salvatore said.

The local area provides the perfect environment, he said, for creating ground level ozone. It's not emitted into the air but created by gasses called nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

"This is the wrong place to be introducing NOx because of the compounds from fracking around here," Salvatore said of the naturally occurring methane and ethane seepage that can happen with the wells. "It comes out around the drill site. It's not like they did anything wrong. It just happens."

Ozone alerts have happened in parts of Louisiana, Langley said. Most occur during hot and still summer months.

Even LDEQ doesn't know what new range will be offered by EPA. "It will be much lower and it will be tough on Louisiana. But how do you combat that is a good question," Langley said.

The current limit is 75 parts per billion. The World Health Organization has recommended dropping it to 50 ppb. That's not likely to happen because much larger cities would be in trouble, Salvatore said.

There is a chance it could be reduced to 70 or 65 ppb over the next five years. The Shreveport region hovers around 66 ppb, he said, but has been as high as 75 to 80 ppb within the past decade.

"It goes up and down. We don't understand why. But we are at low ebb," Salvatore said.

But that's why he fears any "improper technology" selected to dispose of the M6 propellant at Camp Minden — even some incineration methods — "could came back and hurt us with a vengeance and break over 100. It would be awful. It would become Smog City USA."

Overall, the message from Orr at LEAN is for the community to "be aware and participate." What's happening as a result of the M6 scare at Camp Minden is "historic," she said. Groups across the nation have their eye on it.

Her best advice is to remain optimistic "something good is going to come out of it. You won't know until the end, but you have to participate and be aware."





Air pollution challenges

Today, pollution levels in many areas of the United States exceed national air quality standards for at least one of the six common pollutants:

• Although levels of particle pollution and ground-level ozone pollution are substantially lower than in the past, levels are unhealthy in numerous areas of the country. An extensive body of scientific evidence shows that long- and short-term exposures to fine particle pollution, also known as fine particulate matter (PM2.5), can cause premature death and harmful effects on the cardiovascular system, including increased hospital admissions and emergency department visits for heart attacks and strokes. Ozone can increase the frequency of asthma attacks, cause shortness of breath, aggravate lung diseases, and cause permanent damage to lungs through long-term exposure. Elevated ozone levels are linked to increases in hospitalizations, emergency room visits and premature death.

• For unhealthy peak levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, EPA is working with states and others on ways to determine where and how often unhealthy peaks occur. Both pollutants cause multiple adverse respiratory effects including increased asthma symptoms, and are associated with increased emergency department visits and hospital admissions for respiratory illness. Both pollutants cause environmental damage, and are byproducts of fossil fuel combustion.

• Airborne lead pollution, a nationwide health concern before EPA phased out lead in motor vehicle gasoline under Clean Air Act authority, now meets national air quality standards except in areas near certain large lead-emitting industrial facilities. Lead is associated with neurological effects in children, such as behavioral problems, learning deficits and lowered IQ, and high blood pressure and heart disease in adults.

• The entire nation meets the carbon monoxide air quality standards, largely because of emissions standards for new motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act.

Source: EPA