11/01/2024

Eastman's Air Quality Permit for Longview-Area Recycling Plant Details Pollution Impact

Longview News-Journal | Samuel Shaw | Oct. 29, 2024

Eastman's Air Quality Permit for Longview-Area Recycling Plant Details Pollution Impact

Longview News-Journal | Samuel Shaw | Oct. 29, 2024

As Eastman Chemical Co. prepares to expand its Longview-area plant with a $1.2 billion plastic recycling facility, a proposed air quality permit submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality provided the clearest picture yet of what the new build could mean for local air pollution.

In a statement to the News-Journal, Eastman said it has taken every available precaution to mitigate risks to nearby residents, though environmental groups say it’s impossible to fully control pollution at chemical facilities as large or complex as Eastman’s, which already struggles with cancerous air emissions.

The molecular recycling plant announced in March will be installed at the existing Harrison County site just outside the Longview city limits and use a proprietary process called methanolysis to deconstruct an estimated 110,000 tons of waste plastic and turn it into recycled plastic products.

The permit application was submitted in late August and sought approval for roughly 114 tons of additional air pollution each year, including 53 tons of volatile organic compounds, which can be cancer causing to humans.

Multiple scrubbing systems that remove harmful contaminants were detailed in the application. Some of those systems are more than 99% efficient at filtering out specific pollutants when working properly, according to the EPA.

“Eastman has proposed additional monitoring not required by state or federal regulations to ensure we are doing everything we can to minimize emissions,” said Kristin Parker, a company spokeswoman. “We will also conduct monitoring beyond what is required by state or federal regulations.”

“This approach to air emissions is consistent with current practices by Eastman to protect the air quality in the region where our employees reside,” Parker said.

Environmental groups and clean air advocates say pollution control technology creates a false sense of security by masking a fundamental vulnerability at large plants: the labyrinth of pipes, valves and chambers routing chemicals around the 1-square-mile facility introduce endless failure points.

“The problem with facilities like Eastman’s is they constantly leak,” Jane Williams, chair of the Sierra Club National Clean Air Team, told the News-Journal last year. “It’s not what comes out of the smoke stacks, it’s what comes out from all those leaks all the time.”

Alexandra Shaykevich, a researcher at the Environmental Integrity Project, said the pollution numbers outlined in the August application are unlikely to reflect the full extent of new emissions created by the recycling plant.