WILLIAMSPORT – Based on multiple air samples, the Department of Environmental Protection released a report today that says the air surrounding a Bradford County composite wood products manufacturer is safe.
Complaints of malodors and respiratory problems led DEP’s mobile analytical laboratory to gather air samples at various locations around the Craftmaster plant in Wysox Township on multiple days in January and August 2006.
During the August sampling, the department searched for 14 substances based on the company’s reported emissions. Of those substances targeted, only three were detected—ammonia, methanol and sulfur dioxide. None exceeded DEP’s 15-minute exposure threshold.
“DEP conducted extensive air sampling last year after hearing concerns from area residents,” said DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell. “Knowing what emissions the company reported, we searched for a series of substances that could be likely culprits, but our findings did not show concentrations of the magnitude that would pose such problems. Of the three that were detected, they were not present at levels that would pose a human health risk.”
The August sampling was conducted over three consecutive days at three different locations in Wysox Township, in an area just across the Susquehanna River from Towanda.
The January sample results were announced by DEP in May and showed no health concerns.
The three substances detected were found in the January and August samplings.
The sampling was scheduled for August based on residents’ complaints that their respiratory problems were more acute during the hot summer months. DEP mobile lab staff used an open path spectrometer and a mass spectrometer to analyze the ambient air in the area. Ambient air is open air that is not confined in any way.
In addition, nothing in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s national air toxics assessment air quality computer modeling results indicated a significant risk from pollutant exposure in the area. The EPA’s modeling for 177 hazardous air pollutants across the country predicts the risk of contracting both cancer and non-cancer diseases.
Craftmaster emits air pollutants regulated as hazardous by the EPA but plans to install new pollution control equipment on its kiln and first stage dryers in order to reduce these emissions. The company has already raised the height of its fiber dryer exhaust stack from 50 feet to 100 feet.
“Based on the sampling results, federal computer modeling, and planned reductions in emissions at Craftmaster, DEP will not conduct further air quality testing in this area,” said Yowell.