stoptitan.org

New Hanover County Courthouse, April 21, 2008
By Joel K. Bourne Jr.

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Mr. Chairman, Commissioners:

My name is Joel Bourne. I am a freelance journalist and editor residing in the Ogden area of New Hanover County. For the past two decades I have covered important environmental issues for a number of national magazines, most recently as Senior Editor for the Environment at National Geographic. I am currently a contributing writer for that magazine.

More importantly however, I am also the father of three small children and the uncle of two great kids who suffer from asthma, as well as elderly parents who often come to visit their grandchildren. Mr. Chairman, in last Friday’s newspaper article (Star News, April 16th: Giant cement company looks at New Hanover) you said you believed a major Titan cement plant located in the county would be a “win-win” for the county, for the citizens, and for the industry. Here are a few reasons why I think your enthusiasm might be misplaced.

First, cement kilns are enormous energy hogs. They burn vast quantities of coal to fire the kilns to 3500 degrees F and require significant quantities of electricity to grind raw materials and rotate the kilns. Many often pad their revenue by adding waste products to their fuel stream. These products often include shredded tires, paper, wood debris, packing material, as well as materials classified as hazardous wastes, including paints, solvents, used oils, and other chemicals, making them de facto hazardous waste incinerators. They are major producers of sulfur dioxide and modest producers of nitrogen dioxide, two primary components of smog. They also produce large amounts of particulate matter, an air pollutant that causes haze and can have serious health impacts.

2. Cement kilns need a large local source of raw material, particularly limestone, so they are built near large quarry operations, with their associated dust, noise, off-road diesel exhaust, and large truck traffic.

3. Cement kilns are one of the nation’s largest industrial emitters of mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that can cause developmental problems in young children, newborns, and children in the womb. The industry has resisted efforts to install mercury controls on its plants in the U.S. Several lawsuits have been brought against the current EPA administrator for failing to reduce mercury emissions from cement kilns. After reporting on federal and state environmental regulators for nearly two decades now, I can assure you I place no faith in their ability to protect my children’s health, much less the environment.

4. In a study conducted last year by Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia Universities among others, Wilmington was cited as one of ten mid-sized southeastern cities projected to have increasingly poorer air quality from climate change induced warming alone. The study did not include the addition of a large cement kiln in New Hanover County that would be a major contributor to smog and particulate matter. That’s bad news for children, particularly those with asthma, the elderly, and anyone else with impaired lung function. This would be important for any community interested in attracting young families or older retirees.

5. Cement kilns are among the primary industrial emitters of carbon dioxide, second only to fossil-fuel burning electrical generation plants, and also significant emitters of methane–both potent greenhouse gases. Coastal North Carolina is among the most vulnerable areas in the United States to sea level rise from climate change. A recent study by researchers from Appalachian State, East Carolina, UNCW and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change Research estimated that more than $200 million in New Hanover County property could be lost due to inundation in future decades, in additions to millions in lost revenue from reduced recreation activities and increased storm damage. The study was based on 2007 IPCC projections of sea level rise of 15 to 24 inches by 2100, but even the IPCC now admits their estimate was far too conservative. Many scientist studying the issue believe sea level will rise at least a meter by then if not more, depending on how successful the world is in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing carbon emissions will take a global effort, but it will also take local efforts, such as requiring any new industry coming to the county to sequester its carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

I am not opposed to courting industry or good jobs, but I think before we use taxpayer money to do this we should take a cue from Hippocrates and first, do no harm. The best incentive we can offer any industry is clean air, clean water, great schools, and a fantastic quality of life for its managers and employees. I strongly suggest you reconsider your efforts to court this industry, until all the potential environmental impacts have been disclosed and the public has had ample opportunity to comment on this use of their tax dollars.

Sincerely,

Joel Bourne

References:

• Star News Article
• A quick summary of air pollutants the kilns produce
• A much longer and detailed report from USGS (relevant pages 29-40)
• An overview of particulate matter pollution
• Information on mercury lawsuits against EPA regarding cement kiln mercury emissions
• An overview of the air quality study including Wilmington