THE HUNTER REPORT
thehunterreport.com
TATE & LYLE'S
Gerry Schlutetter (blue shirt)
LATEST PERMIT
CHANGE
BY: PAT HUNTER
At last
month's March 24,2011 Loudon
County Air Quality Task Force meeting, Chairman Crosby (AQTF) asked Tate &
Lyle's plant manager Gerry Schuletter, to bring us up to speed on what's
happening with your scrubber? British owned Tate & Lyle is also known as the
former A.E. Staley Loudon plant located in the Blairbend Industrial Park off Hwy
11, near residential subdivisions, town center, senior citizen center, park, and
government offices.
Schluetter gave an oral report, which lasted one minute. He explained that Tate & Lyle had a "28 year old hydrochloric acid
scrubber" used for unloading and it needs replacing and that (TDEC) had
been given a 30 day permit notice. TDEC is the acronym for the state
environmental regulator Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The scrubber will be replaced in April and is better technology according to
Schuletter. It's more efficient so it shouldn't be an increase in emissions. It
should be a decrease in emissions but he did not state the current level of
emissions or the exact decrease of emissions. We are required to report it
commented Gerry Schlutetter.
Health Hazard Information
Acute Effects:
- Hydrochloric acid is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous
membranes. Acute inhalation exposure may cause coughing,
hoarseness, inflammation and ulceration of the respiratory tract,
chest pain, and pulmonary edema in humans. (1-4)
- Acute oral exposure may cause corrosion of the mucous membranes,
esophagus, and stomach, with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea reported
in humans. Dermal contact may produce severe burns, ulceration, and
scarring. (1-4)
- Pulmonary irritation, lesions of the upper respiratory tract,
and laryngeal and pulmonary edema have been reported in rodents
acutely exposed by inhalation. (1,4)
- Acute animal tests in rats, mice, and rabbits, have demonstrated
hydrochloric acid to have
moderate to
high
acute toxicity from inhalation and
moderate acute toxicity from oral exposure. (3)
Chronic Effects (Noncancer):
- Chronic occupational exposure to hydrochloric acid has been
reported to cause gastritis, chronic bronchitis, dermatitis, and
photosensitization in workers. Prolonged exposure to low
concentrations may also cause dental discoloration and erosion. (1-3,6)
- Chronic inhalation exposure caused hyperplasia of the nasal
mucosa, larynx, and trachea and lesions in the nasal cavity in rats.
(4,6)
- The Reference Concentration (RfC)
for hydrochloric acid is 0.02 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3)
based on hyperplasia of the nasal mucosa, larynx, and trachea in
rats. The
RfC is an estimate (with uncertainty spanning perhaps an order
of magnitude) of a continuous inhalation exposure to the human
population (including sensitive subgroups) that is likely to be
without appreciable risk of deleterious noncancer effects during a
lifetime. It is not a direct estimator of risk but rather a
reference point to gauge the potential effects. At exposures
increasingly greater than the
RfC, the potential for adverse health effects increases.
Lifetime exposure above the
RfC does not imply that an adverse health effect would
necessarily occur. (4)
- EPA has low confidence in the study on which the
RfC was based since it used only one dose and had limited
toxicological measurements; low confidence in the database because
the database does not provide any additional chronic or reproductive
studies; and, consequently, low confidence in the
RfC. (4)
- EPA has not established a Reference Dose (RfD)
for hydrochloric acid. (4)
Physical Properties
- Hydrogen chloride is a common synonym for hydrochloric acid. (4)
- The chemical formula for hydrochloric acid is HCl, and its molecular
weight is 36.47 g/mol. (1,3)
- Hydrochloric acid occurs as a colorless, nonflammable aqueous
solution or gas. (1,3,4)
- Hydrochloric acid has an irritating, pungent odor, with an odor
threshold of about 7 mg/m3. (1)
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04-09-2011