The Lanxess chemical plant in Charleston’s Neck Area has significantly reduced emissions over the last four years of ethylene oxide (EtO), a toxic chemical used to make agricultural products that boosts crop yields, a state health official said.
EtO emissions in the North Charleston area have dropped by 80% since 2019, mostly due to Lanxess’ additional pollution controls to contain the chemical, said Ron Aiken, media relations director for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
“We expect even further reductions in EtO emissions in the North Charleston area because of these added controls by Lanxess,” Aiken said.
Lanxess met previous federal EtO limits in 2022 and recently installed more controls to meet a new 2023 limit, Aiken said. Some EtO emissions are still expected, he added.
Chronic exposure to EtO can cause cancer, according to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
DHEC recently shared an EtO emissions report with residents of Rosemont and other North Charleston communities near the plant that has reported two leaks of liquid phosphorus this year and seven other chemical leaks since 2018.
The German-owned plant manufactures phosphorus trichloride and numerous derivative products, such as flame-retardant additives and intermediate products for the agrochemicals industry. EtO is used as part of the manufacturing process.
Nancy Button, president of the Rosemont Neighborhood Association, said the air quality information does not satisfy residents’ overall concerns about other chemicals that Lanxess has at the site.
Button said she’ll request another meeting with DHEC and the company to talk about all of the toxic chemicals used at the plant.
“We need DHEC to come and tell us exactly what are the exposure risks of those chemicals,” she said. Lanxess managers did not attend the Oct. 16 meeting.
Because of the two spills this year, Rosemont residents have become increasingly concerned about the plant where a June 17, 1991, explosion killed nine workers and injured dozens. At that time, Albright & Wilson owned the plant.
Meeting with a limited agenda
The meeting was not intended to review Lanxess’ overall operations, Aiken said.
“We worked hard to make sure the community understood that before the meeting and during it,” he said. “If the community would like to hold a meeting to talk about Lanxess’ operations and previous releases or spills, we are happy to take part in that, but that is not what this meeting was about.”
In August, Rosemont residents were concerned that an alert system, which is regularly tested, was not activated to notify residents of new accidental chemical releases.
Since then, Lanxess has installed a warning system using cell phones, landlines, text messages and email to notify area residents of an emergency, company spokesman Michael Mackin said. The new system does not replace the existing siren.
“Lanxess has remained focused on reducing emissions since acquiring the facility … in 2018, including recent investments into the facility’s emissions control technologies,” Mackin said. “The site uses a variety of modern pollution control technologies to reduce emissions in accordance with the requirements” of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DHEC.
The EPA funded the EtO monitoring, Aiken said. Data for the other pollutants DHEC monitors in the North Charleston area and across South Carolina is reported to the EPA and available on its website: AirNow.gov.
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