Washington — Cleaning up selenium contamination at 16 phosphate mines on public lands will probably cost "hundreds of millions of dollars," a newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report says. The "informal estimate" comes from EPA officials, who told GAO that "long-term remedial actions" will likely be needed at several of the mines, all located in southeastern Idaho. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is responsible for leasing and oversight of mines on federal lands, has made some improvements to its program since 1996 – conducting "more detailed environmental analysis when evaluating new mine plans, requir[ing] phosphate mine operators to provide more comprehensive plans for reclaiming mine sites …, and … requir[ing] the mine operators to provide financial assurances that are based on the full estimated cost of reclaiming mines," instead of on the size of the mines. However, the report noted that BLM "has not documented its new full-cost financial assurance practice in agency policy and therefore has limited assurance that it will be implemented consistently." GAO also said BLM "has not fully coordinated with the Forest Service" when developing lease conditions and financial assurance amounts. Perhaps most troublesome, GAO said about $4.5 million of the $91 million in assurances held by BLM, the Forest Service, and EPA are in the form of risky "corporate guarantees" that could put taxpayers on the hook for the bulk of cleanup costs. "After years of study and millions of dollars spent, the agencies and mine operators are still years away from fully understanding the extent of contamination in the area and many more years away from completing actual mine cleanup," said GAO.
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CF gives Donaldsonville update
Deerfield, Ill. — It often takes a while to start up a nitrogen complex after a power outage, and such was the case with CF Industries Holdings Inc. The company said power was restored at the Donaldsonville, La., complex less than 12 hours after the storm activity of Thursday, May 31. CF said that a safe and orderly start-up of the plants began following a thorough assessment of the site. Damage from the storm was minor, and as of Thursday, June 7, only one of ten operating units remained down. CF expects that unit to be fully operational by Friday, June 8.
Nufarm to open plant in Illinois, move headquarters
Alsip, Ill. — Nufarm Americas Inc. said June 8 that it will be opening a new plant for formulating fungicides, insecticides, growth regulators, and seed treatments in Alsip, Ill. In addition, Nufarm will relocate its North American headquarters and the global head office for the group’s seed technologies business, Nuseed, from Burr Ridge, Ill., to the new Alsip site. The project involves a capital investment of approximately $9 million. Once operational, the new plant will formulate most of Nufarm’s expanding product range in North America and will support the growth of these segments. The company said the in-house production capacity for these market segments will offer Nufarm flexibility to better meet changing market needs in-season and will reduce the company’s inventory carrying costs. Additionally, the centralized location in the Chicago area places Nufarm’s production within a one-day transit to most key customers in the U.S. The location is about 15 miles from Nufarm’s Chicago Heights, Ill., herbicide manufacturing facility, and will also allow Nufarm to leverage combined purchasing power for packaging materials and other supplies, and to manage shipments to customers better by enabling combined shipments. Manufacturing at the new plant is expected to begin in early 2013, with the relocation of Nufarm’s North American office from nearby Burr Ridge scheduled for later in the year. Initially, the new plant will employ about 10. Nufarm Americas Inc. is a subsidiary of Nufarm Ltd., a manufacturer, supplier, and marketer of cropprotection products based in Australia. Nufarm Americas Inc. formulates products that serve the U.S. agricultural, professional turf, vegetation management, and forestry markets.
Agrium dividend more than doubles
Calgary — Agrium Inc. said June 7 that the board of directors has approved a $0.275 per share increase to the semi-annual dividend declared on May 11, 2012. The semi-annual dividend will be $0.50 per share and will be paid July 12, 2012, to shareholders of record on July 1, 2012. “The further increase in our dividend is an indication of the strength in our earnings outlook across both our Retail and Wholesale operations and how our growth strategy has continued to deliver results for the benefit of shareholders. Agrium is committed to continuing to deliver value-added growth across the value chain and remains confident we can achieve our future growth objectives while also providing the opportunity for increases in return of capital to shareholders,” said Agrium President and CEO Mike Wilson.
KSU nitric acid spill sends 6 to hospital
Manhattan, Kan. — Fire officials say that six people were sent to the hospital Friday, June 1, after a Kansas State faculty member accidentally spilled a bottle of nitric acid onto the floor of a laboratory in Mosier Hall. Scott French, chief deputy for the Manhattan Fire Department, told Green Markets that the faculty member was carrying a 70 percent solution (or nine pounds) of nitric acid when she hit a door and cracked the bottle open. Some of the acid spilled onto her feet, causing minor burns. “Six people were in the room at the time, and all were sent to the Mercy Regional Health Center as a precautionary measure,” added French. The faculty members were sent home after treatment. The incident occurred around 2:15 p.m. at the College of Veterinary Medicine. “Anytime people are exposed to chemicals, they have to report to the hospital and as a result this was the one who had burns and other people in the lab to make sure they were okay,” said Steve Galitzer, director of environmental health and safety for KSU. Galitzer said the university will perform an investigation to determine what happened, and also to come up with some preventative measures to keep the same thing from happening in the future. “Nitric acid is typically used in lab for digestion processes, and for cleaning purposes as well, added Galitzer. University workers and the fire department did the cleanup work.
EPA releases draft NH3 health assessment
Washington — The U.S EPA on June 1 announced the release of its draft Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) health assessment for ammonia. EPA said the draft assessment includes an estimate of the amount of ammonia a person can inhale daily throughout a lifetime that is not likely to cause harmful health effects, which is less stringent than the current value for ammonia on IRIS. “The draft IRIS assessment for ammonia represents major progress for EPA in implementing the April 2011 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recommendations for improving IRIS assessments,” EPA said. “The draft assessment uses a new streamlined document structure that is more transparent and clear; includes a template for describing the literature search approach; identifies the strengths and weaknesses of analyzed studies; and describes how EPA applied their guidance, methods, and criteria in developing the assessment.” The draft assessment for ammonia can be viewed at http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris_drafts/recordisplay.cfm?deid=200305; it will be available for public comment for 60 days and will be sent for independent expert peer review. When the assessment is final, it will be posted to the IRIS database.
EPA to hold hearings on possible Atrazine ban
Washington — The U.S. EPA is holding a Scientific Advisory Panel public meeting June 12 to review and consider the ecological risks from the use of the herbicide Atrazine. EPA has announced they are seeking public comments regarding a potential ban of Atrazine in the U.S. The chemical, produced by Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta, has been banned in the European Union since 2004, but 80 million pounds of it are applied in the U.S. each year, primarily on corn, sugar cane, rice, and sorghum, and on golf courses and lawns. Environmental groups, including Save The Frogs, Center for Biological Diversity, and Natural Resources Defense Council, are calling for a federal ban on the use and production of Atrazine, claiming it is a potent endocrine disrupter linked to reproductive defects in fish and frogs and to prostate and breast cancer in laboratory rodents. They also charge that is it extremely persistent in the environment, and that epidemiological studies suggest it is carcinogenic to humans.
Tessenderlo to construct new plant
Tessenderlo Group has announced that its subsidiary Tessenderlo Kerley Inc. (TKI) will construct a production facility at Hanford, Calif. and, at the same time, optimize its Fresno, Calif. facility. Both plants will produce thiosulfate fertilizers.
“This expansion allows TKI to better serve its customers’ increasing requirements in the Western region of the U.S." said TKI CEO Jordan Burns. “The extra production capacity, available in the second half of 2014, will enforce TKI’s position as the leading supplier of KTS® and CaTs® fertilizers.”
The thiosulfate products KTS® (potassium thiosulfate solution) and CaTs® (calcium thiosulfate solution) are sulfur-based liquid specialty fertilizers that can be applied to a wide variety of crops such as grapes, nuts and vegetables.
Tessenderlo says the new Hanford facility and optimized Fresno plant are in line with Tessenderlo Group’s intentions to develop its core businesses in agriculture.
LSB gives El Dorado update
LSB Industries Inc. on June 5 released an update on progress in certain areas of its El Dorado Chemical Co. subsidiary’s facility located in El Dorado, Ark. LSB previously announced that on May 15, 2012 the El Dorado facility suffered significant damage when a reactor in its DSN 98 percent concentrated nitric acid plant (DSN) exploded. No employees or anyone in the El Dorado community were injured as a result of the explosion, and there was no environmental impact.
At this time, the LSBS intends to re-start regular nitric acid and ammonium nitrate (AN) production, on a partial basis, in approximately 30 days, and increase that production over the next 90 days, as various plants are brought back on-line. At this time it is not known when the El Dorado facility will produce 98 percent concentrated nitric acid.
LSB said it is unlikely that repair of the DSN plant is feasible. At this time the company, along with its insurance carriers, are evaluating the damages. This evaluation will take several months to complete. The DSN concentrated nitric acid plant produced approximately 20 percent of the nitric acid manufactured at the El Dorado facility. The company intends to replace the nitric acid production capacity lost by this event.
The three other nitric acid plants, which produce approximately 80 percent of the nitric acid at the El Dorado, in concentrations from 56 percent to 65 percent, sustained less damage. LSB is in the process of undertaking repairs, which should be completed over the next 30 to 90 days. Production from these plants will be phased in over that period as repair of each plant is completed.
The high-density prilled AN plant was returned to operation last week and is running on a limited basis with feedstock from other sources. High-density AN is used for agricultural and high-purity industrial applications.
The low-density AN plant required only minor repairs, which have been completed. When nitric acid is available from one or all of the three “regular” nitric acid plants, the El Dorado facility will resume production of low-density AN. Low-density AN is used primarily for industrial / mining applications.
The El Dorado facility has restarted the truck loading facilities for certain products to enable the facility to ship inventory that was on hand prior to the incident.
The El Dorado facility main nitric acid control room structure was destroyed by the explosion; however, most of the controls remained intact. A temporary control room will be utilized until a new permanent control facility is erected.
The sulfuric acid plant sustained substantial damage and, as a result, as of this date the company is unable to set a target date for return of this plant to operation.
In addition to the damage sustained by the primary production plants discussed above, the electrical service and various support facilities were damaged. Temporary electrical service is available at this time. Repairs to the permanent electrical service and various support facilities will be made over the next 30 to 90 days.
LSB said it is working closely with customers to identify alternatives for supply.
The company believes that it has sufficient insurance to cover the damages to the facility and to cover the company’s lost revenue, after $1 million deductible as to property damage and a 30-day waiting period as to business interruption, per insurance policy provisions.
“The company regrets the difficulties this incident has caused its customers, and is committed to restarting production units as quickly as possible,” said Jack Golsen, LSB chairman and CEO. “This interruption of business activities has been unfortunate; however, we are very positive about the future of our El Dorado facility. We are committed to repairing and rebuilding the El Dorado facility as
New Illinois legislation promotes better fert use, reductions in nutrient loss
The Illinois state legislature has passed new legislation, promoted by the industry and backed by environmentalists, that will help farmers use fertilizer more effectively, reduce nutrient losses, and deliver significant improvements in water quality.
According to the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA), which supported HB 5539 and was a prime mover in getting it passed, the legislation makes substantial changes to the Illinois Fertilizer Act, and has the support of every major agricultural organization in the state, as well as numerous environmental organizations.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency were also key supporters. The bill now awaits Gov. Pat Quinn’s signature before becoming law.
"We are challenged to improve both crop yields and water quality, and this will only happen through innovative nutrient research and on-farm practices aimed at accomplishing this mutual goal,” said Jean Payne, IFCA president. “It creates a nutrient research and education council (NREC), which will utilize a fertilizer tonnage fee to establish and implement nutrient research, education and water quality programs.”
HB 5539’s provisions include the elimination of the Fertilizer Research and Education Council (FREC), which has been replaced with NREC, a private entity that will manage nutrient research, education, and agricultural water quality efforts. According to IFCA, NREC will be funded by a designated portion of the tonnage fee, which will be determined by ag industry members and based upon industry needs, and will not be swept of funds as the FREC program was repeatedly since 2004.
The bill also streamlines the licensing requirements for the fertilizer industry, including replacing custom blending licenses with a single distributor license. In addition, it creates an administrative hearing provision, similar to a provision in the state’s Pesticide Act, which allows the industry to request an administrative hearing regarding any alleged violation of the state’s Fertilizer Act.
The bill also specifies that all funds collected for fertilizer licensing and registration, which previously went to the state general revenue fund, will now go the Illinois Department of Agriculture to support the fertilizer programs. IFCA said this change “should result in a sustainable regulatory program to ensure fertilizer quality, safety, and stewardship.”
According to Jack Darin, director of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club, the bill is part of the "Keep it for the Crop" initiative, which is supported by a coalition of agricultural and environmental organizations working to improve soil and water quality in Illinois. The program seeks to fund nutrient research and education programs and provide fertilizer suppliers and farmers with science-based recommendations for in-field practices to reduce nutrient losses and enhance nutrient efficiency through the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship promoted nationally by The Fertilizer Institute: the right source at the right rate, the right time, and in the right place.
“The new tools will help farmers make smart decisions about fertilizer application, and that will reduce pollution in our waterways," Darin said. "We know farmers want to be part of the solution to water quality problems, and now they’ll have access to resources and technical expertise to do so."
Payne said the tonnage fee will result in a secure, long-term funding mechanism for NREC. The fertilizer industry also supports the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s fertilizer quality and safety programs through product registration and licensing fees that have always been part of The Fertilizer Act, she added. The tonnage fee will eliminate the need for funds from the state general revenue fund to admi