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EPA, MagCorp sign hazardous waste agreement

Release Date: 10/3/2000
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6352,

Release Date: 10/3/2000
Contact Information:
EPA 303-312-6051

Denver -- Magnesium Corporation of America today entered into an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate its plant site near Rowley, in Utah’s Tooele County, for the presence of dioxin and hexachlorobenzene. The levels of the chemicals may be high enough to present a threat to workers and the environment, EPA said.

Under a consent order, MagCorp will almost immediately begin a project that could lead to a full-blown cleanup of key areas on the facility and process changes that would eliminate dioxin emissions from several sources. The facility has 21 days to submit an initial work plan and to erect signs and fences to keep people away from ditches on the site where high levels of contaminants have been found.

EPA wants the company to "assess and address the threat to worker health from past and ongoing releases of dioxin, closely related furans and HCP and to mitigate the effects of future releases."

The company produces magnesium metal and alloys plus chlorine, ferric and ferrous chloride and calcium chloride. Wastes from production processes are conveyed in ditches on the site. A main ditch, called the Red River Ditch, has been dredged periodically and the dredged material "spoils" placed along its sides.

EPA is calling on MagCorp to sample the Red River Ditch, spoils, sewage lagoon, unpaved roads and nearby soils so that contamination can be assessed. The company is to use that information to evaluate risk to workers and the environment. If those risks exceed acceptable levels, the company must propose remedial actions to safeguard human health. The order also requires MagCorp to evaluate and control sources of dioxin, furans and HCB. The company will also evaluate process changes that will eliminate some of the toxics emissions altogether. EPA believes these changes will eliminate the majority of chlorine emissions from the facility. Currently, MagCorp is the number one emitter of chlorine on EPA’s toxic release inventory (TRI).

Dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD) may cause cancer in humans. EPA has a cleanup standard for industrial soils of 5 to 20 parts per billion. Those levels would allow for an 1.3 additional cancers in 10,000 people or 5 in 10,000 at the higher level. Dioxin at the central ditch may be as high as 130 ppb, translating to an excess cancer risk of 3.6 in 1,000.

Dioxins and furans are persistent chemicals. They accumulate in the food chain, and have toxic effects on organs including liver, kidney, muscle, pancreas, thyroid, brain, lungs and in the blood. TCDD has been found in breast milk and causes liver tumors in animals.

Hexachlorobenzene is a probable human carcinogen and has a range of toxic effects on organs when inhaled or swallowed. No official cleanup standard exists for HCB but one EPA Region has set "remediation goals" of 1.5 - 150 parts per million in soil. Those numbers translate to an excess cancer risk of one in a million (at the lower level), one in 10,000 at the higher level. HCB has been measured at levels of 62 to 400 ppm along the sides of the central ditch.

EPA’s enforcement director in Denver Carol Rushin said she was encouraged "that MagCorp has taken this responsible step to address concerns at the facility. This is likely to be a lengthy and expensive process for the company," Rushin said, "and they are to be commended for their willingness to work with us."

Today’s consent order which includes a schedule and seven specific tasks the company must perform, will be available for public comment for 30 days. Copies of the order are available for review at Utah’s Dept. of Environmental Quality in the Office of Solid and Hazardous Waste. EPA is posting the order and associated documents on its website at: https://www.epa.gov/Region8. Click on "Laws and Enforcement."