Sunday, August 21, 2016

Endicott: Got TCE? Just add Leachate, Horse Pee & MTBE

Link to this: TinyURL.com/HorseUrineForEndicott

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please attend the DEC Public hearing at UE High School on Wed. Sept 14th at 5pm. MORE INFO: TinyURL.com/StopTheStinkTrucks


Q: What do you do for a broken Village, a Superfund site which is already contaminated with TCE and other chemicals, to improve morale and real-estate values? 

A: Truck in Reverse Osmosis Leachate Concentrate, and Horse Pee (contaminated by MTBE), by the Truckload!

We have uncovered NEW INFORMATION about Dr. Reddy's lab in Middleburgh, which is sending "about 1 truckload per week" (4,000 to 5,000 gallons) of pharmaceutical waste to Endicott.

What's Dr. Reddy doing w/Horse Pee & MTBE?
And why is he sending to to Endicott by the TRUCKLOAD?
Who is Dr. Reddy, and what's he doing with Horse Pee?

According to site workers at the i3 Electronics Waste Treatment Plant, the waste is essentially Pregnant Mares Urine (PMU) which is used in the extraction of estrogen for use as a hormone supplement for women who have had hysterectomies.

However this waste is also contaminated by a host of nasty industrial chemicals.

Premarin is Estrogen extracted from Pregnant Mare's Urine

(cf. "Premarin" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:MobileLanguages/Premarin )

PMU causes Torture, Abuse, and Slaughter of Horses

PMU ranching is a very nasty business. There are many Horse Rescue operations dedicated to saving these gentle creatures from a lifetime of abuse and ultimate slaughter. Google "PMU Horse Resuce" for more info. Here are some links: WARNING some of these sites have very graphic images of animal abuse:



  1. http://www.nyshumane.org/presmsg-premarin-cruelty-to-horses/
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BACqqLgOpns

  3. http://www.fourcornersequinerescue.org/horsecrueltyissues/pmuhorses.html
  4. http://blog.syracuse.com/healthfitness/2009/02/saving_the_foals_of_premarin_m.html
This waste is likely contaminated by Toluene, Methylene Chloride, and MTBE, a very toxic chemical formerly used as a gasoline additive.

Wait, did you say MTBE?!

Yep. Remember the 60 Minutes report on MTBE from 2000?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jmV1dFRws14



MTBE is part of the patented extraction process of estrogen from mare's urine: https://www.google.com/patents/US20040072814

Better link:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2014/0371180.html

Identifies Authors at Dr. Reddy's Labs in Middleburgh NY and spells out the chemical process including "....Resultant resin column washed with mixture of pre-cooled tertiary butyl methyl ether (295.5 mL)...." (That's MTBE-- a BANNED gasoline additive).



Dr. Reddy's Middleburgh Lab is a Contaminated Site:

Dr. Reddy's Labs purchased the Middleburgh NY site in 2011 from APR/Applied Pharmaceutical Research, which has been performing the same process at the site since 2004.

Dr. Reddy's Labs is a site contaminated by high levels of Toluene, Methylene Chloride, and MTBE, which are chemicals used in extracting Estrogen from Pregnant Mare's Urine

Dr. Reddy and the former owner involved in a lawsuit over generic Premarin:

(and why is he sending this crap to Endicott!?)

Two waste streams are being trucked in to Endicott from over 2 hours away. This is just what we know about now. Neither NYS DEC nor i3 Electronics have demonstrated trust or openness, since some of these wastes were started in 2011 in a SECRET PILOT PROGRAM, with no public notification, no public process, and as far as we can tell, NO ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

When the property was being sold, it was discovered the groundwater at this site was contaminated with methlylene chloride, toluene and high levels of MTBE, almost 1,500x the safe limit. 

"The town of Middleburgh will get $50,000 to use toward flood recovery following a spill at a pharmaceutical laboratory, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. APR LLC and its former vice-president, John Lomans, also were required to establish a $500,000 escrow account in order to clean up a leach field at 1974 Route 145, located just south of the village near Huntersland Hill Road.

According to the DEC, Lomans had authority at the company during a time when several chemicals were dumped into a sink, contaminating the groundwater. The Sept. 27 consent order marks the third instance Lomans was cited for violations of environmental conservation law. The most recent instance was discovered this summer after another company, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd,, purchased the property and buildings.

The new company commissioned an environmental review that revealed the groundwater there is contaminated with methlylene chloride, MTBE, toluene and other chemicals, according to the consent order."

http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2011/oct/04/1004_company/
(click "print" if you can't see the article)

The Albany Times-Union reported:
"Levels of MTBE were found up to 14,900 parts per billion, well beyond the state safety standard of 10 ppb. (THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE!!-- BH) MTBE was added to gasoline beginning in the late 1970s. Evidence grew in the 1990s that the additive was moving swiftly from leaking underground gas tanks and contaminating thousands of water supply wells across the country."

http://timesunion.com/business/article/Toxic-site-brings-fines-2197464.php
MTBE is BANNED in NY as a Gasoline Additive... but...

In 2000, Gov. Pataki signed a law banning MTBE from being used as a fuel additive in NY starting in 2004:

...but it is still legal for other industrial uses:

Art 16 NY Ag & Markets law § 192-g
http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/agriculture-and-markets-law/agm-sect-192-g.html

Raising Horses for PMU is apparently LEGAL in NY

FYI, I have found NO LAW making raising horses for PMU (Pregnant Mare's Urine) in NY illegal. This really amounts to torture, and as Susan Kayne says in the video about, it amounts to a "long road to the slaughterhouse".

Also-- Murdering horses in New York is LEGAL. as long as it's "your property" and someone is making money. ....Unless it is a police horse: http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/penal-law/pen-sect-195-06-a.html

WTF kind of stupid law is this. Maybe we should recruit all horses destined for slaughterhouses for police work, just to make their lives "matter".

The NYS DEC is running cover for Industrial Polluters 

 The NYS DEC apparently knows about the risk of MTBE in Dr. Reddy's effluent, since they specifically mention it on page 18 of their draft permit. Let me state that again:



The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, our Environmental Regulator(!!!)  KNOWS they are sending a BANNED CHEMICAL: MTBE -- a known groundwater contaminant -- mixed with horse urine by the tankerload to Endicott, because they mention it in the Draft Permit!!!

Here's all we know right now about Dr. Reddy's operation as of now, as reported by NYS DEC (which is not known for their transparency).
Notice of completed application:


The following changes to the permit are proposed: Whole Effluent Toxicity testing action levels have been added; Total Cyanide sample type has been changed from 24-hr composite to grab; Monitoring and limits for specific parameters have been added; Twelve month load limits for Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus have been added; Sampling frequency for Toluene, Xylene and Trichlorotrifluoroethane (Freon 113) have been increased from quarterly to monthly; A Schedule of Compliance has been added to require the submittal of a Nutrient Removal Study for the reduction of Total Nitrogen in the effluent; A Schedule of Submittals has been added for a short term high intensity monitoring report for Total Coliforms, and an influent scan of Dr. Reddy's
Laboratory wastewater; Limits for Methylene Chloride, 1.1.1-Trichloroethane, and Toluene have been reduced;
Available chronic and acute dilutions have been reduced. The permit format has been updated and incorporates the latest general conditions. Details of changes are specified in the draft permit and fact sheet.

Draft Permit, page 18:

Outfall
Parameter(s) affected
Required Action
Due Date
001 Conventional Volatile Acid Base/Neutral Ethyl Alcohol Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether Influent Sampling of Dr. Reddy's Laboratory Wastewater: The permittee shall scan the influent wastewater from Dr. Reddy's Laboratory for conventional, volatile, acid, base/neutral parameters, Ethyl Alcohol, and Methyl Tert-Butyl Ether. The permittee shall submit the results to the addresses listed above. (NOTE: MTBE! -- BH) EDP + 6 Months


Revised Fact Sheet:

Wastewater Type
Origin
Transport Method
Treatment
Code of Federal Regulations
Rinse water from resin columns, lab quality rinse waters and boiler blowdown. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories in Middleburgh, NY Trucked in Equalization, pH Adjustment, Activated Sludge, Clarification, Sand Filtration, Chemical Precipitation with Lime, Coagulation, Flocculation, Neutralization, Carbon Adsorption 40 CFR 437 Subpart C

All of these documents can be found at the Concerned Citizens of Endicott Master Document Collection: http://TinyURL.com/StopTheStinkTrucks

All of these waste streams (Landfill leachate, Reverse Osmosis Concentrate, Dr. Reddy's labs, etc) combine together at the waste treatment facility to make 400,000 gallons per day of effluent into the Susquehanna River, just 1.5 miles upstream from Endicott's primary water well.



Visualize 400,000 gallons:
400,000 gallons is like 50x large tanker trucks (8,000 gallons) dumping into the river every day, or like 17x railroad tanker cars (26,000 gallons). We don't see this because it travels through the storm sewers.

Last Factoid:

What is the Total Fee which i3 Electronics pays to the Village of Endicott for dumping this much waste into the Village Storm Sewer System every day? = $0.00

(I made a FOIL request for this info, and it came back, "No records found").

I will have more about this horrorshow coming soon...

PS: Don't Drink the Water....

Endicott's Drinking Water.
Photo credit: Renee Allen-Roma

Link to this: TinyURL.com/HorseUrineForEndicott

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Please attend the DEC Public hearing at UE High School on Wed. Sept 14th at 5pm. MORE INFO: TinyURL.com/StopTheStinkTrucks


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