What is My State Doing to Protect the Environment?
By Hailey Towne
April 24th, 2020
Within the last few months, I moved out of my childhood home in Danbury, New Hampshire and I now reside a whopping 10 miles away in Bristol, New Hampshire. I moved from one small town to another, but something is different about Bristol. There is more day-to-day traffic, small businesses, and even large businesses. One of these larger businesses is a worldwide company called Freudenberg-NOK. Freudenberg is a factory that produces rubber components for companies such as Ford, General Motors, Aerospace Industry, and many other car companies. Luckily for me, I have someone who experiences first hand all of the environmental rules, laws and regulations that a mass producing plant like this has to follow. I live with my grandmother, and she has worked for this plant for many, many years. With her inside perspective and knowledge, I was able to ask her some valuable questions for this blog post:
What is your job title at the plant?
“HSE (Health Safety and Environmental)/Maintenance Coordinator” -Electa Towne
How many years have you worked for Freudenberg?
“I’ve worked there for about 40 years.” -Electa Towne
How many tons of VOCs are you permitted to emit every year?
“Our permit allows us 10 tons of VOCs every year.” -Electa Towne
What is the fine for exceeding this limit?
“I am not sure because we have never done it, but it would be established by the EPA.” -Electa Towne
How much does your carbon fee cost per ton?
“We paid $217.50 per ton for last year, for a total of 5.64 tons.” -Electa Towne
Do you keep logs on your emissions? If so, how often?
“One I keep daily, and two I keep once a month. I run a daily report on overall VOC Control Efficiency for Industrial Adhesives, a monthly report on VOC emissions from Coating Operations on Adhesives only (covers controlled (through oxidizer) and uncontrolled (water based)) and a monthly usage and emissions of Clean Air Act HAPS (Hazardous Air Pollutants) for the past year.” -Electa Towne
Would you say there has been an increase/decrease of emissions over the last 10 years? Has it stayed the same?
“We have worked hard to decrease our carbon footprint, so we have definitely been decreasing. A few years ago we took out two massive boilers that brought down our emissions a lot.” -Electa Towne
Do you have to renew any/all of your permits annually? After a certain amount of years? Ever?
“We have to renew our air permits about every 3 years.” -Electa Towne
Can you name anything else that your company does for climate adaptation and/or mitigation?
“Not really, we do what we can to economize and lower the carbon footprint. Like I said, we got rid of great big oil boilers, but then we switched to smaller propane tanks and air conditioners.” -Electa Towne
(This interview took place on Sunday, April 26th, 2020 around mid-morning. Some questions were answered via email the following day.)
On a broader spectrum, I looked at New Hampshire as a whole as well. Personally, I was curious about how certain toxins were categorized and regulated. What made certain gases more dangerous than others? Some answers that I brainstormed included the following: LD50, heating potential, and health defects on animals and humans such as carcinogens, teratogens, mutagens, etc. I spent a lot of time talking with my grandmother about reliable sources and information, and we concluded that the best source I can use for New Hampshire specifically is the Department of Environmental Services website for New Hampshire. Whilst randomly clicking on links and PDFs on the DES website, I came across a section labeled “Regulated Toxic Air Pollutants Classification.” (DES official website) Since this is one of the topics I had wondered about, I clicked on the link and read further. What I found answered my questions almost exactly:
Class I
• Group A, B1, B2 Carcinogen
• Categorized as “carcinogenic to humans”/“likely carcinogenic to humans”
• A1/A2 carcinogen
• “Capable of inducing reproductive or developmental effects in experimental laboratory animals”
Class II
• Group C carcinogen
• “Suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential”
• A3 carcinogen
• Can induce mutagenic effects
Class III
• Any air pollutant not categorized under groups I and II
The most important and relevant piece of information that I found on the DES website was the “New Hampshire State Implementation Plan to Meet the Requirements of the Clean Air Act.” One way that the state of New Hampshire does this is by monitoring non attainment areas. Non attainment areas are considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These areas include larger cities such as Nashua, Concord and Manchester (For New Hampshire). When these areas reach a certain level of air pollution, concern begins to rise and actions are taken to minimize emissions and get to the root of why air pollution levels are so high in that area.
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
Another way that New Hampshire monitors air quality is a technique that is just that, Air Quality Modeling! This is done by monitoring something called 8-hour ozone. Eight-hour ozone is defined as the “daily maximum surface concentration in parts per billion over 8 hours” (DES official website). The type of air emissions monitoring done for stationary sources such as factories, buildings and households is done by CEM, or continuous emission monitoring. This is permanently installed to measure one or more specific pollutant’s emissions. These tests are simply called Compliance Emission Tests. The black and white photo loosely references what the tubing looks like in emission pipes.
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
Something that I would like to reflect on is that some things are kept private from the public. After looking through the Freudenberg-NOK website, I could not find their total annual emissions. When I talked to my grandmother, the Health Safety and Environmental COORDINATOR, she said that this kind of information is not for public use. I thought this was strange, but then I figured that if they are able to meet the requirements for their permits, stay under the limit for emissions and are reducing carbon footprints, it is only really important that this information is for use of the EPA and DES. As someone who thinks a lot about what I can do to help out in areas where I can, this is a hard pill to swallow. Why shouldn’t the general public, specifically the residents of Bristol, New Hampshire, be able to learn about what’s being produced into the air that I breathe? These are all questions that I could bring up to my grandmother, but I realized that separating home life from work is important and I did not want to pry too hard, especially because I don’t know how much information she’s allowed to give me legally.
One thing that I do to reduce my carbon footprint is by maintaining a vegan diet. I know that this is small, and may not impact the earth the way I’d like it to, but it’s something small that I can do. This is similar to Freudenberg getting rid of their massive oil boilers. It is small compared to the earth, but hugely impacted their carbon footprint in a positive way. What this means to me is that as a community, town and state, “we” are taking action to improve the world we live in. This gives me confidence that I will be able to raise my children and grandchildren in a safe, healthy environment. After all of the research that I did on New Hampshire and my home town, I would say that both are taking high measures to make sure our air is as pure as it possibly can be in the industrial world that we live in today.
By Hailey Towne
April 24th, 2020
Within the last few months, I moved out of my childhood home in Danbury, New Hampshire and I now reside a whopping 10 miles away in Bristol, New Hampshire. I moved from one small town to another, but something is different about Bristol. There is more day-to-day traffic, small businesses, and even large businesses. One of these larger businesses is a worldwide company called Freudenberg-NOK. Freudenberg is a factory that produces rubber components for companies such as Ford, General Motors, Aerospace Industry, and many other car companies. Luckily for me, I have someone who experiences first hand all of the environmental rules, laws and regulations that a mass producing plant like this has to follow. I live with my grandmother, and she has worked for this plant for many, many years. With her inside perspective and knowledge, I was able to ask her some valuable questions for this blog post:
What is your job title at the plant?
“HSE (Health Safety and Environmental)/Maintenance Coordinator” -Electa Towne
How many years have you worked for Freudenberg?
“I’ve worked there for about 40 years.” -Electa Towne
How many tons of VOCs are you permitted to emit every year?
“Our permit allows us 10 tons of VOCs every year.” -Electa Towne
What is the fine for exceeding this limit?
“I am not sure because we have never done it, but it would be established by the EPA.” -Electa Towne
How much does your carbon fee cost per ton?
“We paid $217.50 per ton for last year, for a total of 5.64 tons.” -Electa Towne
Do you keep logs on your emissions? If so, how often?
“One I keep daily, and two I keep once a month. I run a daily report on overall VOC Control Efficiency for Industrial Adhesives, a monthly report on VOC emissions from Coating Operations on Adhesives only (covers controlled (through oxidizer) and uncontrolled (water based)) and a monthly usage and emissions of Clean Air Act HAPS (Hazardous Air Pollutants) for the past year.” -Electa Towne
Would you say there has been an increase/decrease of emissions over the last 10 years? Has it stayed the same?
“We have worked hard to decrease our carbon footprint, so we have definitely been decreasing. A few years ago we took out two massive boilers that brought down our emissions a lot.” -Electa Towne
Do you have to renew any/all of your permits annually? After a certain amount of years? Ever?
“We have to renew our air permits about every 3 years.” -Electa Towne
Can you name anything else that your company does for climate adaptation and/or mitigation?
“Not really, we do what we can to economize and lower the carbon footprint. Like I said, we got rid of great big oil boilers, but then we switched to smaller propane tanks and air conditioners.” -Electa Towne
(This interview took place on Sunday, April 26th, 2020 around mid-morning. Some questions were answered via email the following day.)
(Photo taken by Hailey Towne from official Freudenberg-NOK paperwork)
(Photo taken by Hailey Towne from official Freudenberg-NOK paperwork)
On a broader spectrum, I looked at New Hampshire as a whole as well. Personally, I was curious about how certain toxins were categorized and regulated. What made certain gases more dangerous than others? Some answers that I brainstormed included the following: LD50, heating potential, and health defects on animals and humans such as carcinogens, teratogens, mutagens, etc. I spent a lot of time talking with my grandmother about reliable sources and information, and we concluded that the best source I can use for New Hampshire specifically is the Department of Environmental Services website for New Hampshire. Whilst randomly clicking on links and PDFs on the DES website, I came across a section labeled “Regulated Toxic Air Pollutants Classification.” (DES official website) Since this is one of the topics I had wondered about, I clicked on the link and read further. What I found answered my questions almost exactly:
Class I
• Group A, B1, B2 Carcinogen
• Categorized as “carcinogenic to humans”/“likely carcinogenic to humans”
• A1/A2 carcinogen
• “Capable of inducing reproductive or developmental effects in experimental laboratory animals”
Class II
• Group C carcinogen
• “Suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential”
• A3 carcinogen
• Can induce mutagenic effects
Class III
• Any air pollutant not categorized under groups I and II
The most important and relevant piece of information that I found on the DES website was the “New Hampshire State Implementation Plan to Meet the Requirements of the Clean Air Act.” One way that the state of New Hampshire does this is by monitoring non attainment areas. Non attainment areas are considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). These areas include larger cities such as Nashua, Concord and Manchester (For New Hampshire). When these areas reach a certain level of air pollution, concern begins to rise and actions are taken to minimize emissions and get to the root of why air pollution levels are so high in that area.
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
Another way that New Hampshire monitors air quality is a technique that is just that, Air Quality Modeling! This is done by monitoring something called 8-hour ozone. Eight-hour ozone is defined as the “daily maximum surface concentration in parts per billion over 8 hours” (DES official website). The type of air emissions monitoring done for stationary sources such as factories, buildings and households is done by CEM, or continuous emission monitoring. This is permanently installed to measure one or more specific pollutant’s emissions. These tests are simply called Compliance Emission Tests. The black and white photo loosely references what the tubing looks like in emission pipes.
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
(Photo Screenshotted by Hailey Towne from the DES official website)
Something that I would like to reflect on is that some things are kept private from the public. After looking through the Freudenberg-NOK website, I could not find their total annual emissions. When I talked to my grandmother, the Health Safety and Environmental COORDINATOR, she said that this kind of information is not for public use. I thought this was strange, but then I figured that if they are able to meet the requirements for their permits, stay under the limit for emissions and are reducing carbon footprints, it is only really important that this information is for use of the EPA and DES. As someone who thinks a lot about what I can do to help out in areas where I can, this is a hard pill to swallow. Why shouldn’t the general public, specifically the residents of Bristol, New Hampshire, be able to learn about what’s being produced into the air that I breathe? These are all questions that I could bring up to my grandmother, but I realized that separating home life from work is important and I did not want to pry too hard, especially because I don’t know how much information she’s allowed to give me legally.
One thing that I do to reduce my carbon footprint is by maintaining a vegan diet. I know that this is small, and may not impact the earth the way I’d like it to, but it’s something small that I can do. This is similar to Freudenberg getting rid of their massive oil boilers. It is small compared to the earth, but hugely impacted their carbon footprint in a positive way. What this means to me is that as a community, town and state, “we” are taking action to improve the world we live in. This gives me confidence that I will be able to raise my children and grandchildren in a safe, healthy environment. After all of the research that I did on New Hampshire and my home town, I would say that both are taking high measures to make sure our air is as pure as it possibly can be in the industrial world that we live in today.
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