Displaying items by tag: Pollution

US: Lehigh Cement and Lehigh White Cement have agreed to an investment of US$12m for the installation of pollution control technology across their 11 active cement plants. US Fed News has reported that the upgrades can be expected to reduce net emissions of nitrous oxised (NO_x) by 4550t/yr and sulphur dioxide (SO₂) by 989t/yr. Lehigh Cement will additionally pay a US$1.3m civil penalty for past Clean Air Act violations.

Uzbekistan: The State Committee for Ecology and Environmental Protection plans to ask cement plants to establish sampling and analysis stations for sources of air pollution by the start of 2022. If they don’t the government will take measures up to and including suspension of production, according to the Trend News Agency. Uzbekistan was ranked in 16th place by AirVisual in a listing of the countries with the most air pollution in 2018.

US: People living near the Cemex Lyons cement plant in Colorado have complained about dust emissions. The Save Our St. Vrain Valley group has filed a report with Boulder County Public Health about dust clouds rising from site, according to the Associated Press. The local authorities say that the clouds don't appear to violate any existing regulations but Cemex officials have promised to look into the issue. The cement producer has also said that it has ways to mitigate dust emissions and it welcomes hearing from people so it can address any concerns.

Spain: The residents’ association of San Diego, Galicia, has filed a complaint to the Port of A Coruña over a discharge of cement dust from Cementos Cosmos’ 0.7Mt/yr Niebla plant. La Voz de Galicia has reported that the emission was the result of a broken pipe. Cementos Cosmos, a subsidiary of Votorantim, says that it detected the malfunction instantly, and resolved it within three minutes.

China: Research conducted by the North-West Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources has ascertained detailed data on carbon dioxide (CO₂) and mercury (Hg) output at a cement plant in Lanzhou using local spruces.

VerticalNews has reported of distance-dependent variations of Hg concentration in needles close to the cement plant, with the highest concentrations observed in needle samples from the site nearest to the plant. Hg in tree rings increased gradually for all sites by year, reaching a concentration of 65.8ng/g in the last growing period at 0m from the plant.

The study fuels hopes of accurate quantification of historical accumulation of air pollutants, including heavy metals, as well as contributing to our understanding of biochemical Hg cycling in forest ecosystems.

India: Zuari Cement’s integrated cement plant at Sitapuram, Telangana has been issued a show cause notice by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for exceeding particulate matter emissions. During an inspection it has found to be emitting 40.6mg/Nm³ from the kiln and 78mg/Nm³ from the cement mill, according to the Times of India newspaper. The limit is 30mg/Nm³. CPCB officials also found other violations including an alleged deliberate attempt show reduced levels of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The plant has been asked to calibrate its dust monitors properly and submit a compliance report by late July 2019.

India: Chettinad Cement’s Karikkali plant in Tamil Nadu has been issued a show cause notice by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for exceeding particulate matter emissions by more than three times the limit. An inspection following Online Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) data found emissions of 91.2mg/Nm³, according to the New Indian Express. The limit is 30mg/Nm³. The CPCB also found discrepancies with the OCEMS data due to poor instrument calibration.

China: The China Building Materials Federation has released plans to cut cement production capacity by 70Mt in 2019 as part of its efforts to reduce air pollution and increase industry efficiency through consolidation. Ideally the federation’s work plan wants the largest 50 national producers to cut all production lines with a capacity below 2000t/day and tp upgrade old technology on the remaining lines, according to Yicai Global. Typically larger cement production lines in the country manufacture 5000 – 7000t/day.

China produced 2.2Bnt of cement in 2018. The new work plan will order all cement companies to shut down production lines producing below 2000t/day in areas where pollution is high. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in northern China has been identified as one of these areas. The scheme also encourages industry consolidation, aiming to bring over 60% of national production to the top 10 cement makers, and wants to eliminate poor-quality cement products so that they make up less than half of all cement made. It wants to use mergers and restructuring to do this and it supports integration through cross shareholdings and asset exchanges.

US: Lehigh Cement and Argos USA have agreed to pay a US$1.5m fine for alleged Clean Air Act violations at the Martinsburg cement plant in West Virginia. Argos has owned the plant since December 2016 and Lehigh Cement was the previous owner. The violations occurred from 2013 to 2016. Neither Lehigh Cement nor Argos USA admitted liability for the alleged violations as part of the settlement.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cited the companies for various Clean Air Act violations based on responses to EPA information requests and data collected and reported under the plant’s permit. These included exceeding particulate matter emissions, non-compliance with opacity testing, failing to comply with requirements for operating a kiln with dioxin/furan emission limits, failing to perform required stack testing on a kiln’s exhaust in a timely manner and other violations.

Italy: The Buzzi Unicem cement plant in Monselice, Padua has come under fire from concerned locals following an emission of dust on 25 March 2019. Local press reported that the plant failed to notify residents following an emission of raw meal for at least three hours and not until plant staff had been telephoned by the media.

The plant uses marl and supplementary raw materials, the alleged unclear origins of which have particularly animated local environmentalists. Environment Councilor and mayoral candidate Gianni Mamprin said, “They say it’s just dust, but I don’t trust them. A plant of this type is incompatible with the tourism project that we want to implement in Monselice. Above all, Article 19 of the Environmental Plan of the Colli Park states that (it) is an incompatible plant in a natural park. If I am elected mayor of Monselice, I will actively commit to the closure of this unhealthy plant, because this territory does not need a factory that continually creates anxieties and doubts for citizens.”