Here's the latest reply to a request for Information regarding
Sonae, recently fined for the third time this year for polluting our
community. The request was sent to my councillor Mark Hagan who in
turn passed on my questions to one of Kirkby Times regulars regarding
Sonae -Knowsley Councils Head of Environmental Health - Mr Neil Turner. First the original email sent
to Mark Hagan then forwarded to Neil Tuner is published in full. Remember-
I am not alleging that Tony Hackney was dismissed - just that information
I received suggested it. Tony Hackney WAS employed by Kronospan in N Wales
- evidence is there using google -
"Tony Hackney, Kronospan's works director, wanted a 'fit
and forget solution': "a technology," he said, "which would give
me peace of mind as an effective solution, but would also be
sustainable in the long term." More here!
"Tony Hackney of Kronospan Ltd. outlined the specific issues
facing manufacturing companies such as his, whose production
processes were energy intensive. As well as the problems they
had faced with the rising cost of fuel for CHP plant, they were
also facing competition from the national power companies for the
supply of recycled timber which was used in their manufacturing process" More here!
Plus an acknowledgement off Bangor University here………
And more here about him claiming 'zero discharge' at Kronospan - didn't the
Northwood Bugle actually visit this plant? - (scroll down to 'polymer chemistry
on the linked webpage') More here
A woodchip company in north Wales has been fined £75,000 following two
serious accidents at its factory. Mold Crown Court heard that the death of
55-year-old Dewi Jones Roberts at Kronospan in Chirk could have been avoided.
The Judge, Mr Recorder Merfyn Hughes QC, said it was clear that a pre-production
area where sawdust was stored had been unsafe. Kronospan had been warned the
situation was an accident waiting to happen (we've heard that before!),
he said, and the measures it took following the first accident
were woefully inadequate. ( Thursday, October 28, 1999 Published
at 23:38 GMT BBC source. )
Email Sent to Neil Turner Head of Knowsley Council Environmental Health
1st paragraph below Altered slightly to avoid being sued.
Greetings - I have information that suggests Managing Director
of Sonae, Tony Hackney, was dismissed by Kronospan (North Wales competitor)
after a fire at their site in June 2002. The alleged Root cause was poor maintenance
causing leaking thermal oil. Alleged Result - main boiler burned down causing
around £10 million damage. 2 months later, i am infomed, he was employed by Sonae. I wonder if this is true?
Did you know? The main emission issue at sonae is not formaldehyde?
Like all UK manufacturers Sonae makes chipboard with around 70% recycled wood.
The majority of this is relatively clean packaging waste,
but some demolition timber is also used, this contains timber
treated with heavy metals, PCP and many other contaminants.
There is no analysis of contamination of these raw materials at any site in the UK.
In addition, Sonae, unlike any other UK manufacturers buys in
waste timber to burn for energy recovery - they are running
a waste incineration plant.
Manufacturing process emits heavy metals - which are not part
of emission consent so are not routinely measured and finished product
contains these contaminants.
Reply to E-mail off Neil Turner
.
1. Personal Information about the Managing Director
The allegations made by Mr Dempsey in this regard are not a matter on which
I am able to pass comment, as it is not a material piece of information
provided as part of the regulation of the process currently 'authorised'
by the Council at the Sonae premises.
2. The Main Emission Issue at Sonae is not Formaldehyde
I am not sure as to what is meant exactly by the terminology used
in this sentence as it leads one to believe that a further statement
is to be made on what is the main emission, but none is made. However,
in order to provide information on the total emissions that are the
subject of conditions in the authorisation, I have set out below a
table detailing the maximum concentrations of substances. Limits
for Formaldehyde, Total Aldehydes, Particulate Matter and Condensable
Volatile Organic Compounds are set within Government guidance and the
Council is directed to apply these limits to this type of plant. In
addition the Council used its discretion and applied additional limits
for metals, dioxins and furans during the commissioning phase (first
18 months) based on other relevant guidance.
TABLE 2 - WESP Monitoring Test Methods
(table detailing the maximum concentrations of substances)
Concentration of particulate matter from the WESP
Concentration measured in mg/m3
Concentration of particulate matter from the WESP =20 mg/m3
Particulate matter from all contained sources other than the WESP =50 mg/m3
Condensable volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) (excluding particulate matter, and calculated as carbon) = 130 mg/m3
Formaldehyde (as formaldehyde) = 20 mg/m3
Total aldehydes (calculated as carbon) = 20 mg/m3
The following limits are not set in the Secretary of States Guidance but were included in the Sonae authorisation for monitoring during the commissioning phase of the process…….
Toxic/heavy metals and their compounds = 0.5 (total) (Averaged over sample period min=30mins, max = 8 hours).
Cadmium and its compounds (expressed as Cadmium) and Thallium (Tl).= 0.05 (total)
Mercury and its compounds (expressed as Mercury) = 0.05 (total)
Dioxins/Furans = 0.1 ng/m3 (total) (Averaged over sample period min= 6 hrs, max = 8 hours).
(Heavy metal, dioxin and furan emission maximum concentration values have been obtained
from the EC Directive (94/67/EC)).
The table relates to the main emission point of the Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP)
and conditions the emissions of various substances.
3. Like All UK Manufacturers Sonae makes Chipboard with around 70% Recycled Wood
The percentage of recycled timber at each plant does vary, however the
use of 'new timber' for processing is diminishing and the use of recycled
timber is therefore increasing.
The potential for recycled timber to contain contaminants was recognised at the
outset. This point was discussed with the site managers and conditions
were applied to the authorisation to ensure that the recycled timber is
sampled in accordance with a sampling and rejection policy. In addition
to the emissions limits contained in the table above relating to gases
emitted from the main chimney, testing of the ash from the furnace for
the following substances was required:
Monitoring for 'heavy' metals eg Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium
and its compounds, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese,
mercury and its compounds, nickel, tin and vanadium were all
tested throughout the commissioning stage in the ash after burning,
together with dioxins and furans, the results being below the concentrations
quoted on the authorisation.
4.There is no analysis of these raw materials at any site in the UK
At the Sonae plant there is a prescribed procedure in place for
sampling the raw materials prior to use and drivers of wagons containing
timber that does not meet the sampling standard are not allowed to deposit their timber.
5.Sonae, unlike any other UK Manufacturers buys in waste timber to burn for
energy recovery
Sonae does buy in timber for process plant operation and final
product. Unlike other plants Sonae
uses heat generated from the
combustion of waste wood to dry the woodchips used in manufacture of the boards.
The process plant itself does not fall within the definition of an incinerator.
6. Manufacturing process emits heavy metals which are not part of the emission
consent.
The process has a potential to emit heavy metals which was recognised at the time
the authorisation was granted. Controls were therefore applied through the conditions
on the authorisation. As has been stated earlier monitoring for heavy metals was carried
out in accordance with conditions imposing standards over and above the list of substances
identified in the Secretary of States Guidance. In this respect Sonae has been required to
meet stricter standards than apply at other plants in the UK.
For completeness I have included a table of test methods used at the
Sonae plant which, again, are directed by conditions in the authorisation.
TABLE 2 WESP Monitoring Test Methods
(
Note: WESP = Wet Electrostatic Precipitator and provides emissions control for
submicron particulate, heavy metals, acid mists, fumes, dioxins, and furans and
many other dangerous emissions. That Sonae use this WESP is a sign they have
something dangerous they need to control. -
more here on WESP
Substance - Particulate Matter
Test Method - Shall be measured using British Standard BS 3405:1983 (in chimneys
or ducts), using the Graseby-Andersen stack sampler enhanced towards the BS
6069 section 4.3/US EPA Method 5 protocols, to return particulate results
with an accuracy in the order of +/- 10%, or similar/equivalent testing methodology .
Substance - Condensable Volatile Organic Compounds, (CVOCs) excluding
particulate matter, expressed as carbon.
Test Method - Testing for CVOCs shall be undertaken in accordance with the
general method described in appendix 2,Secretary of State's Guidance -
Processes for the Manufacture of Particleboard and Fibreboard. (PG 6/4
(95)), briefly described below. CVOCs shall be tested for by drawing
gas samples from the stack through a heated filter to remove particulate
matter and avoid condensation, and a heated sample probe fitted to a
series of collection systems. Comprising: A condenser trap with an
open ended dip pipe in ice, Two impingers each containing ultra pure
deionised water also quenched in ice held at a temperature of 40C,
An absorber column of purified silica gel, A final impinger with
ultra pure deionised water. The contents and washings from the
condenser trap and two impingers are then transferred to clean
glass sample bottles and submitted to a NAMAS or other accredited
laboratory for determination of the total organic carbon (TOC) by
high sensitivity TOC analysis. The silica gel absorber columns
shall be analysed for TOC content by oxidation with dichromate
and back titration.
Substance - Formaldehyde (on-site - not off site)
Test Method - Shall be tested for using liquid 2,4 DNPH impingement technique followed by HPLC analysis.
Substance - Total Aldehydes (calculated as carbon)
Test Method - Shall be tested for using the liquid 2,4 DNPH impingment technique followed by HPLC analysis.
Temperature - Electronic Thermometer - TESTOTHERM 33
Substance - Toxic Metals and their compounds.
Test Method - Shall be tested for using: US EPA Method 29. (See Appendix 3 and 6). (Ed- EPA =US Environmental Protection Agency - in effect Sonae choose to use USA guidelines on environmental concerns in the UK! And choose the EPA method of determining toxic metal safety levels - US have disregarded many environment laws - is this why Sonae use them to measure pollutants?)
Substance - Dioxins/Furans
Test Method - Shall be tested for using the Graseby-Anderson sampling train. This includes a heated glass sample line, a heated filter followed by a chilled XAD-2 resin trap, condensate collector and iced impinger assemblies. Each of these stages of sample are subsequently combined and analysed compositely at a NAMAS or other accredited laboratory, using a GC/MS system comprising automated sample injector, a VG autospec Ultima mass spectrometer equipped with an HP 5890A gas chromatograph, in accordance with US EPA Method 23 protocols.
Velocity and Temperature Flow Profiles - Shall be obtained from 10 measurements taken at each of the sampling access positions provided in the stack, using a pitot tube connected to a micromanometer calibrated against an alcohol inclined manometer and using an integral thermocouple.
Substance - Moisture Content
Test Method - Shall be obtained based on the weight gain of drilled condensate traps and of self indicating silica gel loaded into an impinger assembly and positioned in-line with the isokinetic sample trains. Moisture content shall be interpreted as any weight gain of the silica gel resulting from moisture vapour absorption. The weight gain is then calculated against the molecular weight of water and the volume occupied by the water vapour at specified conditions, which is then related to the total sample volume to provide a water content value on a percentage volume/volume basis.
Oxygen - Direct reading instrumentation functioning by the electro-chemical principle, using TESTOTHERM equipment.
7.Finished product contains these contaminants.
Timber, even in its 'as grown' state will contain some heavy metals taken up from the soil.
I have tried to answer all the points raised by Mr Dempsey, however, if you require
clarification or further information, please do not hesitate to contact either
myself, or John Baxter on 0151-443-4731.
Email Neil Turner
here.
Yours sincerely
R N Turner,
Head of Environmental Health
& Consumer Protection
Usefull Links (also go to Toxic Sonae Home page
here
USA problems with wood contamination pollution -
US Armed Forces source.
A Danger May Be Lurking In
Your Own Backyard
HSE expose dangers of Wood Dust in report - "Of the wood dust samples collected
, 27% were above 5 mg/m3, ie the maximum exposure limit"(check the Sonae levels)
More Here!!
