Factory’s plan to reduce toxic gas plaguing Black neighborhoods up for city approval

The Graphic Packaging International paper mill, shown in this file photo, has created a plan to address concerns associated with toxic gas found in the Kalamazoo neighborhood where it operates. (MLive file photo)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- As residents react to troubling news that the air they are breathing in a part of the city may be making them sick, many are asking when the problem will be fixed.

An answer could be coming soon.

Graphic Packaging's plan to address concerns associated with toxic gas found in the Kalamazoo neighborhood where it operates is now before city officials seeking approval. The state of Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued an order requiring Graphic Packaging to make changes in July.

The concentration of toxic gas found in Kalamazoo's Northside neighborhoods is a public health hazard, according to a long-awaited report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued this week.

Along with the municipal wastewater treatment plant, the Graphic Packaging paper mill nestled among homes in a predominately Black area of the city is a source of hydrogen sulfide gas. This week, state health researchers confirmed the gas is a hazard.

The July Administrative Consent Order required GPI to install sensors in the factory's wastewater clarifier, which the business recently completed. It requires continued operation of a temporary oxygen injection system until the company obtains a permit to install a permanent oxygen injection system, EGLE Communications Manager Hugh McDiarmid Jr. said.

The proposed plan was recently submitted to the city site plan committee and the approval won't be decided on until May 17. Residents have a chance to comment before the approval is granted by emailing [email protected].

The plan requires installation/operation of a wet scrubber system to control hydrogen sulfide emissions from the AES building, wet well, and sludge drum filter outlet at Graphic Packaging's wastewater treatment plant no later than Dec. 31, McDiarmid said.

In wet scrubbing processes, liquid or solid particles are removed from a gas stream by transferring them to a liquid, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The nuisance minimization plan for odors specifies monitoring frequency and ranges for oxidation-reduction potential and dissolved oxygen in the wastewater clarifier to "greatly reduce" the potential for hydrogen sulfide generation, McDiarmid said.

The nuisance odor plan will need to be revised and resubmitted to state regulators for approval once the permanent oxygen injection system and wet scrubber control system are installed and operational, EGLE said.

Kalamazoo Public Services Director James Baker told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette a report on the GPI project was given to city commissioners in April.

The addition of oxygen into the wastewater process reduces the occurrence and formation of hydrogen sulfide, Baker said.

An odor task force, made up of government officials, company representatives and others, has met in private sessions for several years, and has been engaged with Graphic Packaging on the project, Baker said.

"Our engineers are also coordinating this GPI project with our proposed GPI effluent service realignment," Baker said.

The effluent service realignment is to reroute wastewater from Graphic Packaging International to the municipal wastewater treatment plant, in an effort to reduce concerning hydrogen sulfide gas levels in nearby neighborhoods.

Nyree Yarbrough, whose house backs up the the Graphic Packaging facility, said she has had skin conditions that may be tied to air quality. "When I think about it, all the things I went through growing up in the area, it kind of makes sense," Yarbrough told MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette this week.

"At the end of the day, as a Black person, this is kind of what we get served up all the time," Yarbrough said. The two neighborhoods closest to the plant are made up predominantly of Black residents.

"Hopefully by some miracle it bypasses you and all the people you love and all the people you know," she said. Two of her children had bronchial issues while living there, she said.

"Hopefully people will fix the toxins in the air finally," Yarbrough said.

The new discharge collection system at Graphic Packaging will eliminate a wastewater junction box, EGLE said, which has been a source of hydrogen sulfide emissions to the ambient air.

EGLE will continue to review sensor data posted by Graphic Packaging and the city of Kalamazoo to see if gas reductions are happening. EGLE inspectors will continue to respond to odor complaints from area residents, McDiarmid said.

The work is on the same clarifier that an outside engineering firm recommended placing a lid or cap on to reduce hydrogen sulfide gas production in 2020.

EGLE requested the company examine the possibility of placing a cap on the clarifier but there were potential safety concerns with build up of explosive gases associated with capping the clarifier. EGLE agreed that keeping the clarifier in an oxidative state and installing sensors to continuously monitor it was the appropriate course of action, McDiarmid said.

Graphic Packaging said in a brief statement Friday it agreed to invest in a permanent system to replace the leased system in accordance with the consent judgement.

Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Kalamazoo daily newsletter.

Also on MLive:

Stay indoors to avoid polluted air hazard, state says. That's no solution, neighbors say.

’Free-for-all’ pedestrian scramble crossings eyed for downtown Kalamazoo

I-94 project inches closer to finish as new ramp opens

Tear gas will still be used as ‘last resort’ in Kalamazoo, police decide

Air pollution levels in Kalamazoo neighborhood are hazardous, state finds

Dangerous ‘hot spot’ next to WMU campus needs solution, police chief says

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.