GranTech dries and pelletizes contaminated wastewater treatment plant sludges from Fort Howard Corporation and sells the pellets to chemical companies for use as an 'inert' carrier for fertilizers and pesticides. It is located at the corner of Liberty and Ashland streets near downtown Green Bay.

Toxic Air Pollution

In 1989, DNR gave GranTech an air pollution permit, which allowed the company to build and begin operating their driers. Once it was operating, DNR required air tests to prove that air permit limits could be met.

In 1991, the tests showed that GranTech's air pollution greatly exceeded their permit limits. But DNR did not require GranTech to shut down, change their process, or add more pollution control equipment. Instead, they allowed GranTech to build a taller smoke stack, to dilute the air pollution over a wider area.

In 1992, DNR amended GranTech's air pollution permit to allow 105 times the original limits for PCBs, 15.4 times more VOCs (volatile organic compounds - toxic solvents), and 6 times more Formaldehyde.

Now the air permit allows per year --- 195,348 pounds of dust, 498,444 pounds of VOCs, 147,168 pounds of Nitrogen oxides, 36,792 pounds of Carbon monoxide, 2,575 pounds of Mercury, 1,489 pounds of Formaldehyde, and 10.5 pounds of PCBs. Hundreds of other toxic chemicals are also present in the dust and fumes arising from GranTech's process --- including dioxins and furans. Brown County already had the 3^rd highest toxic air emissions in Wisconsin --- we don't need more air pollution.

Toxic Land Pollution

When you read a pesticide label which says '98% inert ingredients,' this could mean the contents are 98% Fort Howard sludge. (Pesticide companies are not required to identify their inert ingredients.) GranTech's product is marketed for use by home lawn care companies and golf course managers.

This is the same sludge which had formerly been landfilled, due to its polluted condition. It is highly contaminated. Each year GranTech's pellets will release more than 1,225 pounds of PCBs into the environment.

By comparison, about 1,000 pounds of PCBs flow down the Fox River each year (largely from contaminated sediment resuspension.) And according to the U.S. General Accounting Office, polluters legally dumped with wastewater a total of 1,900 pounds of PCBs and 900 pounds of mercury into all five of the Great Lakes in 1990. On the Fox River, millions of dollars are being spent to clean-up and stop the PCBs flowing down the river. One hotspot at Little Lake Butte des Mort releases about 10 pounds of PCBs each year into the Fox River, and DNR may require an expenditure between $9-15 million to clean the hotspot up.

For DNR (and the U.S. EPA) to allow GranTech to release 10 pounds of PCBs to the air, and 1,225 pounds to land makes absolutely no sense, given everyone's efforts to clean-up PCB contamination elsewhere.

Livestock Drug Additive

The Food and Drug Administration allows GranTech's product to be used as a pharmaceutical base for livestock. This means the toxic contaminants in Fort Howard sludge could be fed directly to livestock with their antibiotic and other drug treatments.

Sets a Precedent

GranTech is the first facility of its kind in the world. It sets a dangerous precedent for many other toxic releases. Despite these concerns, DNR did not require any 'Environmental Assessment' of the long-term, cumulative impacts of GranTech.

Possible Answers

1. Shut down GranTech, until Fort Howard Corporation succeeds in preventing the contamination of its sludges --- through process and raw material supply changes.
2. Over the short term, continue using the Fort Howard Sludge Lagoons site for temporary, monitored, retrievable storage. It's better to keep the contaminants in one place than to spread the toxics across the countryside.
3. Require Fort Howard Corporation to pursue an aggressive research program to develop safe detoxification technologies for its contaminated sludges.
4. Require Fort Howard Corporation to treat all sludges at its Lagoons, once a detoxification technology is proven.