Cement Plant Neighbors Attack Emissions Study as Being Pseudoscientific

Environmental activists and neighbors of a cement plant Wednesday blasted a report to state health officials, commissioned by the plant’s owners, which concluded that burning hazardous waste as fuel at the plant near Gorman does not endanger people or the environment.

Officials of the state Department of Health Services held a hearing Wednesday in Lancaster to gather public comment on the study commissioned by the National Cement Co. of California.

Representatives of the department’s toxic control program said the report--required under the terms of an agreement with the state--was received about two weeks ago and their review should be complete in about two weeks.

Residents blame emissions from the plant for health problems experienced by people in the northern Antelope Valley.

Critics called the report on the National Cement plant by Ebasco and Associates, a consulting firm, inadequate and “pseudoscientific.” They were particularly critical of the report’s conclusions that burning hazardous waste as fuel is slightly less dangerous than burning other fuels and that the risk posed by emissions decreases as the amount of hazardous waste burned increases. Long exposure to high temperatures in the cement-making process breaks down the toxins, the report said.

“It’s a fallacy,” said Helen Thornburgh, a leader of residents opposed to the toxic waste incineration. “It’s like saying the more you smoke, the less harmful it is.”

Representatives of Greenpeace, the international environmental group, issued a statement saying, “The assessment considers only a tiny fraction of the pollution and health risks caused by burning wastes in the kiln.”

National Cement President Don Unmacht defended the report.

“We feel that it was a very thorough test of emissions,” he said. “We hope that the state finds that this is sound technology to be used by our society and that we be allowed to continue as before.”

Val Siebal, regional administrator for the state toxic control program, said the finding that risk decreases as the amount of hazardous waste increases was “not something I can support right now.”

But he said he could not comment further until the end of the review process.

The plant has been fined a total of $450,000 in the past year by state and Kern County air quality officials for burning more hazardous waste as fuel than it was licensed to use. As part of the accompanying settlement with state health officials, the company agreed to commission the report.

While the report is being analyzed, National Cement officials agreed to reduce the level of waste burned from 1,200 gallons per hour--the amount allowed under the firm’s state permit-- to 650 gallons per hour, or from about 40% to about 25% of the fuel used.

If the company study is approved, state officials will permit the company to return to the higher level of toxic waste burning, Siebal said. If not, officials may require further study and ultimately may decide that the company should hold to the present limits or reduce the amount even more.