The Diageo distillery and Hovensa refinery both contributed to powerful odors and fumes that closed numerous schools and generated dozens of complaints last week on St. Croix, Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Alicia Barnes told the V.I. Legislature Wednesday.
Barnes testified before a hearing of the Committee of the Whole in Frederiksted called by Senate President Ronald Russell to get expert and public feedback on last week’s events.
DPNR is leading Health, Education, Fire Services, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies in responding to the situation through a multi-agency unified incident command coordinated by the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency.
"We went through all of the possible sources on the south shore," Barnes said. "We are confident the source would be Hovensa and Diageo, and we have the findings and facts to support that," she said, prompting applause from the Senate gallery.
Air samples found small amounts of both hydrocarbons likely from the refinery and "bio-carbons," or organic compounds, consistent with the molasses sludge produced at Diageo, she said. Once the component parts and their likely origins are teased out through testing, "we will then apprise the responsible parties of corrective actions," Barnes said.
The timing of phone calls complaining about odors also points toward Hovensa or Diageo, according to VITEMA Director Elton Lewis. When you plot the times and locations of calls to complain about odors, along with wind speeds and directions at the times in question, a pattern emerges showing plumes of fumes originated in St. Croix’s south shore industrial complex, he said.
Both Hovensa and Diageo acknowledge incidents that could have produced foul odors Friday through Sunday, but neither admit to any problems that could have resulted in fume problems and school closures Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
According to Diageo Vice President Dan Kirby, a large tank of fermented molasses wash, called "vinasses," sat in a large buffer tank for three days over the weekend of May 14 while the plant was shut down for maintenance.
"By Sunday, the decomposing molasses in the buffer tank created a more pungent and less sweet odor than we are used to," Kirby said. Diageo is planning to quickly cover the buffer tank to prevent similar odors in the future, he said.
Kirby apologized, saying the distillery was just starting up and "there may be a few kinks to work out."
“We do not believe that there is any health risk to our 69 employees nor any of our neighbors," Kirby said. "But … we are extremely disappointed in ourselves that over the last few days an unpleasant odor has in fact come from our distillery. I want to assure you that we are taking immediate steps to alleviate this problem."
In a letter, Hovensa’s acting CEO John George said heavy rains May 13 caused about 39 barrels of water mixed with "different types of oil" to overflow within Hovensa’s grounds, and more rain May 14 caused another 74 barrels to overflow. Notified of odor and fume complaints, the refinery took remedial actions including spraying foam over the spill to hold down fumes, he said.
Barnes said over the weekend she gave Diageo a verbal directive to cease some maintenance operations that may be leading to its problems and met with Hovensa to talk about its industrial wastewater treatment system. She acted through DPNR’s permitting authority, she said.
Air samples collected over the course of the several days of complaints found small quantities of sulfur dioxide, but below the threshold where there would be an immediate health concern, Barnes said.
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) becomes a health concern when it surpasses a continuous reading of 0.75 parts per million (ppm) for 15 minutes; for Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), readings of 47 ppm and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) become a concern at 400 ppm for 15 minutes or more, Barnes said. On St. Croix, background SO2 readings range from 0.2 to 0.7 ppm, depending on how much motor traffic is nearby.
Nearly all the measurements showed SO2 levels between 0.3 an 0.5 ppm, with a single, momentary spike of 1.1 ppm after a wind gust, she said. Tests for VOCs and H2S showed levels far below the thresholds for concern, she said.
"That is not to minimize anyone’s personal experience," Barnes said. "But we have not had those sustained readings with the sampling we have done.
While the tests measure quantities in parts per million, the human nose can detect SO2 at levels as low as a few parts per trillion, and even "safe" levels can stink to the point where it seriously hampers normal living, she said. Also, while there may have been little immediate danger, long-term regular exposure to such chemicals is a health risk, she said.
Dr. Marc Jerome, district health officer for the Health Department, concurred with Barnes. His office conferred with the Florida Poison Information Center and "the answer coming back is that at that level there would not be any consequences," he said. "Except, they said there should not be constant contact even at that low level."
St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA) Director Paul Chakroff said simply measuring for VOCs is inadequate as some VOCs, such as benzene, are much more harmful than others and are harmful at levels far below the established threshold for all VOCs.
After hearing from agency heads, corporate officials and organizations like SEA, Russell let a number of residents take the stand to testify briefly on their own experiences. Many raised general concerns about the long-term health effects of Hovensa and Diageo, as well as the "red dust" left from the old Harvey Alumina smelting operation on the south shore.
"The horrible foul odor that comes out of the distillery does not allow us to inhale good quality air," said Herminio Torres of Estate Profit. "It has changed our way of living, and we no longer can enjoy sitting on our balconies anymore," he said.
"I’ve been experiencing asthma problems for quite a few years," said Clifford Coffey of Estate Glynn. "I’ve lost my ability to smell," he said.
"When I go to the beach I normally go to the east end where there is no smell," said Carlos Rodriguez of St. Croix. "I don’t want my sister or nieces to get cancer or anything from this. I just want them to find the source of this smell," he said.
Several people gave anecdotal accounts of high cancer rates and questioned why there was little solid epidemiological data on the relationship between cancer rates and proximity to the refinery.
No votes were taken at the information-gathering hearing. Present were: Russell, Sens. Carlton “Ital” Dowe, Nereida “Nellie” Rivera-O’Reilly, Craig Barshinger, Patrick Sprauve, Sammuel Sanes, Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Neville James, Alicia "Chucky" Hansen and Shawn-Michael Malone. Absent were Sens. Patrick Hill, Alvin Williams, Janette Millin-Young, Celestino White and Usie Richards.
