Debate Rages over Air Permit Renewal for MXI Plant

ABINGDON, Va. – Impassioned pleas came from both sides Monday night during a public hearing on a new air permit proposed for MXI.

The industry, at Interstate 81’s Exit 22, has drawn criticism since the spring, when employees next door at Hapco first complained of illness they say is caused by emissions from MXI’s cooling tower.

“I was extremely worried about the safety of my unborn child,” said Tracy Tiller-Helbert, a Hapco employee whose baby will be born in November and who must keep working because she is the family’s primary breadwinner. “It’s a game of waiting until my child is born and begins developing before I truly know if my child is affected.”

Tiller-Helbert was one of more than 100 to attend a public hearing on a new draft permit for emissions from MXI, an industry that recycles alcohol-based products into fuel. The hearing was held by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality at Abingdon High School.

Tiller-Helbert said she has experienced nausea, nosebleeds and extreme headaches from what she described as a harmful exposure to a chemical. She blames another chemical, used to mask chemical odors, for the burning in her throat and lungs.

“I’m really looking at DEQ and I’m looking at our government agencies more than I am MXI,” said Mike Robinson, director of human resources for Hapco.

“When I have an employee look at me in the eyes with tears streaming down his face and his nose bleeding and throwing up and I told him DEQ says it’s not harmful, I look like a fool,” Robinson said. “I about got my butt whipped a couple of times telling folks that. That’s how serious it is to some of our employees. …
What else do we need to do to show you that our people are getting sick? Do we have to bury a child?”

Tony Skeen, distillation manager for MXI, pointed to operations records to indicate what MXI officials have been saying all along: even when the new water-recycling process is not operating, Hapco calls DEQ to complain.

He said other things – including working with aluminum like Hapco does – can produce the symptoms its employees are complaining of.

“I’m not pointing fingers, I’m just saying there can be other stuff going on besides MXI,” Skeen said. “We work outside, we check the cooling tower, we check our process, we are in it hands-on 24/7, and we’ve had no one complaining from any sickness because of smell. It does smell like whatever we’re processing … but it’s not enough to make you sick.”

Brian Potter, operations manager for MXI, said the wind often blows the cooling tower emissions back toward the plant – and even then, no one gets sick – and he’s confident the equipment he has installed will deal with any odor issues.

Workers at Hapco, which makes metal flag and light poles, first complained in the spring, when an odor entered the facility and some experienced symptoms similar to drunkenness; additional complaints followed.

In June, DEQ issued a notice of violation to MXI for exceeding its emissions limit for volatile organic compounds, primarily ethanol. MXI had recently installed equipment to allow the plant to reuse its water.

Though Hapco employees complained of illness from MXI’s emissions, air testing did not reveal anything that raised concern about adverse human health effects, said Rob Feagins, air permit manager for DEQ in Abingdon.

The permit discussed Monday would raise the allowed emissions limit sevenfold, Feagins said, but it would also require installation of equipment to keep odors from escaping.

Potter said it has cost MXI $100,000 to install the equipment.

People who live near the industrial park are also concerned about the plant’s emissions, and some were present at the hearing. Monica Fuller, who said she was speaking on behalf of all residents of Old Trail Road, said there’s been a problem in the neighborhood since the spring with the odor and “it’s not pleasant.”

Feagins said it will take several weeks for DEQ to make a decision on whether to approve the permit. He would not speculate on the likely outcome, though he said it would not have gone to the stage of a public hearing if DEQ’s engineering staff didn’t think MXI’s proposal would address the odor problem.

He said monitoring of emissions is included in the proposed permit.

dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701