Factories, power plants and other facilities in Virginia released about 35 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the state’s water, air and land in 2015, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
By Julia Rothey, Dai Ja Norman and Haley Winn for Capital News Service
More than half of the pollution came from just five facilities, the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory showed.
Most of the pollution in Virginia involved nitrate compounds released into the water and ammonia, hydrochloric acid and methanol released into the air, an analysis of the TRI data found. The releases included more than 1 million pounds of carcinogens – cancer-causing chemicals such as acetaldehyde, styrene and lead.
The TRI database details which chemicals are released by which facilities, how much is released and where the pollution goes. The latest data is for 2015.
The Radford Army Ammunition Plant, located along the New River in Montgomery County, emitted more toxic chemicals into the environment than any other facility in Virginia. The plant, the U.S military’s primary gun and rocket propellant provider, released more than 10 million pounds of pollutants, mostly nitrate compounds going into nearby waters.
Prolonged exposure to nitrates can lead hypertension and other cardiovascular problems, birth defects and headaches, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Radford plant was the second biggest water polluter in the nation in 2015, the data showed. Only the AK Steel Corp. operation in Rockport, Indiana, emitted more toxins into the water – over 13 million pounds. In terms of total on-site releases (including air and land), the ammunition facility ranked 35th nationwide.
According to the TRI data, after the Radford plant, the Virginia facilities with the most on-site releases in 2015 were:
- MeadWestvaco’s paper plant in Covington – 3 million pounds of chemicals.
- Honeywell International’s chemical plant in Hopewell – more than 2.3 million pounds.
- The Chesterfield Power Station in Chester – almost 2 million pounds.
- International Paper’s mill in Franklin – 1.3 million pounds.
Two other facilities – Jewell Coke Co. in Buchanan County and the Clover Power Station in Halifax – also had on-site emissions exceeding 1 million pounds.
Ladelle Whorter, who chairs Virginia Organizing, which advocates for a clean environment and other issues, said she finds the amount of pollution deplorable.
“It kills people,” Whorter said. “It sickens and disables people. It causes birth defects. It decreases property values, so it impoverishes people. And it makes our surroundings ugly and depressing.”
Virginia Organizing has participated in an array of campaigns to combat pollution and climate change.
The group helped get CSX to stop parking train cars filled with hazardous materials near a low-income neighborhood in Fredericksburg. Currently, the organization is working with other groups to oppose the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, which Whorter said would threaten water supplies.
“We have been working and are continuing to work on reducing air pollution, and of course that has benefits beyond reduction of greenhouse gases,” Whorter said. Her organization tries to practice what it preaches: The group’s central office runs on solar power and uses hybrid fleet cars.