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Who is familiar with this situation? I started reading up on Georgia Pacific's "pit" in Southeast Columbus, how it's affecting residents, etc., and was horrified to say the least. Here is a summary of what's going on:
The Georgia-Pacific Resins Facility on the Southside of Columbus releases hazardous air pollution that can cause cancer, neurological, respiratory, and reproductive harm. The most dangerous chemicals are formaldehyde (a cancer-causing agent), methanol, and phenol. Exposure to these chemicals - even at low concentrations - for long periods of time can cause illness.
Georgia Pacific uses a pit (‘bio-pond’) behind the plant to treat wastewater generated at the facility. The wastewater is highly toxic and has to be pre-treated before it can be released to the city’s sewer system. The pit is large – 275 feet long and 125 feet wide – and represents an obsolete method of treating wastewater. Large quantities of hazardous chemicals are discharged into the pit including 1,000,000 pounds of formaldehyde, 470,000 pounds of methanol, and 350,000 pounds of phenol (2004 TRI). This is almost triple the amount of chemicals released into the pit in 2000. Georgia Pacific claims that these chemicals are broken down through biodegradation process, in which microscopic bugs consume the chemicals as a source of food.
The community believes the toxic pit represents an unregulated and uncontrolled source of toxic air emissions.
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