PLYWOOD MILL AIR EMISSIONS CARCINOGEN ASSESSMENT. 8 March 2010. Jorma Jyrkkanen

Plywood Mill Air Emissions; Carcinogen Assessment Carcinogenic Air Emissions from Plywood and Specialty Board Product Mills jjyrkkanen76@outlook.com 8 March 2010

Air Emissions Generated. Panel Product Emissions Process Emissions Raw material handling Particulate, Total VOCs Drying Particulate, total VOCs, VOC emissions dependant upon the wood species, dryer type and method of heating. Emissions include formaldehyde, methanol, terpenes, acetaldehyde, acrolein and ethanol. Combustion product emissions. These depend on the fuel used to fire the dryers and hot presses. These fuels can be natural gas, wood waste or fuel oils. These emissions include particulate, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide. Minor trace emissions of other hazardous compounds (metals, dioxins and furans etc) can occur from wood combustion. Pressing Particulate, total VOCs, methanol, formaldehyde, phenol and other organics VOC emissions. Emissions depend on the types of resin, amount of resin used, board thickness, press temperature, cycle times and catalyst (resin activator) and application rates. Annual Emissions from Typical Facilities Emission Typical Facility Emissions Comment Particulate Dryers at particleboard, MDF, hardboard and OSB facilities can emit from about 100 to 700 tonnes of particulate per year. These are the major sources, with wood fired boilers as the next major source. The major particulate emissions at indirect fired panel productfacilities are attributed to boilers. Residual wood waste incineration is amajor contributor to particulate emissions. Only limited data were available for particulate emissions from sawmills, but boilers and residual wood waste incineration are the major emission sources. Only limited data on fine particulate and condensables were available. Nitrogen Oxides Residual wood waste incineration and boilers are the largest sources of NOx emissions, with emissions up to 84 tonnes per year for the largest boilers. Only limited data were available for dryers. Carbon Monoxide Residual wood waste incineration is the largest source of CO emissions, with emissions up to 4000 tonnes per year. Only limited data were available for dryers Emission Typical Facility Emissions Comment Sulphur Dioxide Sulphur dioxide emissions from wood boilers and residual wood waste incineration range from .4 to 10 tonnes per year,depending on boiler size and quantities of wood wasteincinerated. Facilities using fuel oil were the highest sulphur dioxide emitters (order of magnitude greater than wood combustion). Total VOC Residual wood waste incineration is a major source of total VOC emissions, with large incinerators contributing up to 350 tonnes per year for a typical facility. Dryers at hardboard and MDF facilities can emit up to 330 tonnesper year. The typical OSB dryer emits about 170 tonnes per year. Particleboard has lower emissions at the dryer, but therefiner can contribute 120 tonnes per year. Tempering ovens and presses at a typical hardboard facility can contribute 130 to 160 tonnes per year of total VOCs. This is attributed to the use of linseed oils. Presses at plywood facilities, particleboard and OSB mills are lower, on the order of 4 to 40 tonnes per year. Available emission factors for softwoods include data for southern pine. These are high in terpenes that contribute to higher total VOC emissions. Using these factors for Canadian wood species will over predict total VOC emissions. Speciated VOC Formaldehyde emissions at most facilities are less than about 5 tonnes per year. At the MDF and hardboard facilities, the annual emissions are larger, ranging from 85 to 103 tonnes per year. This is mainly attributable to the dryer. The OSB facility has lower emissions (19 tonnes/year). Methanol: The largest process sources of emissions for methanol were due to dryers and presses at OSB and hardboard facilities. Phenol, acetaldehyde, acrolein, propionaldehyde and acetone. These emissions were typically under 10 tonnes/year for most facilities, except for the emissions for these compounds from the hardboard and OSB facilities. At these facilities, the dryers and tempering ovens had emissions up to 64 tonnes/year. Other: The following compounds were emitted at less than 2 tonnes per year from all of the typical facilities: Toluene, Xylenes, Methyl ethyl ketone and Benzene. Reference: http://www.ccme.ca/assets/pdf/lmbr_awp_smmry_meraf_e.pdf EPA: regenerative thermal oxidizers; catalytic thermal oxidizers; or biofilters are used to reduce emissions. I am concerned about the unlisted varieties of carcinogens emitted and particulates that have not been characterized specifically. Of those specified, there are carcinogens. I know benzene is a leukemogen, formaldehyde is a carcinogen, hydrogen sulfide and wood particulates have been linked to lung cancers. Others listed here have been connected to Non Hodkins lymphoma and Soft tissue sarcoma. Why this is of special concern to me is because we live in the air shed of one of these mills and so do many other people and the emittants regularly hang in the local air due to seasonal inversions dramatically increasing exposure when conditions are such. Toxic particulates and condensing volatiles are also consumed by animals like birds and fish when they settle on the lake and may move up the food chain endangering many species. Copyright 2010 Jorma Jyrkkanen. Tags: Plywood Mill, Particulates, Formaldehyde, dioxins, furans, benzene, SO2, Jorma Jyrkkanen See also: https://jyrkkanenconservationbiology.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/plywood-mill-air-emissions-carcinogen-assessment/