July 25, 2006 Update

The Holcim draft EIS and draft permit will be released very soon!

The draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and draft permit for Holcim’s plan to burn more than 1 million scrap tires annually along with slag from the Asarco lead smelter Superfund site in East Helena are expected to be released in the final week of July. Check this Web site frequently for summaries of these important documents and for announcements on the comment period and public hearing.

In July 2005, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality announced that Holcim could continue its use of Asarco slag while state officials incorporated the risks of burning slag, which has significant amounts of lead, arsenic, chromium, and cadmium, into the risk assessment being conducted for tire burning. By law, Holcim must prove negligible risk to human health and the environment before being permitted to burn these wastes.

Click here for the most recent informational fact sheet from our friends at Montanans Against Toxic Burning.

Following is a link to our guest editorial that Montanans Against Toxic Burning submitted to the Bozeman Chronicle in response to the recent Holcim advertisements. Below the editorial, we included links to sources that document the information in our editorial.
Editorial Submitted to the Chronicle on June 9, 2005
Supporting Links for more information

April 5, 2005 Update

Below is a recent press release regarding Holcim's use of slag waste from the Helena Superfund site. Following the press release is the alert from last year's comment period.

We expect that the Envionmental Impact Statement will be released soon and that we will be asking for people to comment again then. Stay tuned.

April 3, 2005 Press Release

Holcim Cement Burning Slag

From Superfund Site

Citizens Concerned about Risks to Air Quality

A broad coalition of citizens from the Gallatin Valley today requested that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) order the Holcim Trident cement kiln to immediately stop burning slag waste from the Asarco lead smelter Superfund site in East Helena.

The Gallatin Valley citizens recently discovered that the DEQ has been allowing Holcim to use the slag in its cement-making process at its plant along the Missouri River, even though it is laden with lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other toxic metals.

“We are alarmed that DEQ failed to require Holcim to obtain a permit to burn the slag waste and allowed this to continue without assessing the impacts on air quality,” said Kris Thomas of Montanans Against Toxic Burning.

According to Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center, “The law is clear that a facility like Holcim's cement kiln must obtain an air quality permit before it can burn waste material that changes the composition of its air pollution emissions.” Yet for the past several years, Holcim has been burning the Asarco slag without a permit to do so.

The slag, though legally classified as solid waste, has been described by the manager of the Superfund site as exhibiting the characteristics of hazardous waste. It appears that DEQ has not required a compositional analysis of the slag from the Superfund site. “Residents are concerned about the possible hazardous emissions, in especially in light of the frequent malfunctions and equipment failures experienced by the facility,” explained Jennifer Swearingen of MATB.

Holcim has applied for a permit to burn more than one million whole scrap tires annually in their cement kiln. There are additional concerns that the soon-to-be-released environmental impact statement and human health risk assessment should take into account the emissions from burning the Asarco slag in addition to those from tire burning.

Contact:
Anne Hedges, Montana Environmental Information Center,443-2520
Kris Thomas, Montanans Against Toxic Burning, 587-7193

For more information,

Group questions plant's toxicity By Jennifer McKee Gazette State Bureau
Billings Gazette 4/5/2005

Lawmakers, group assail cement plant burning of slag AP Article
Billings Gazette 4/4/2005

Please go to http://www.notoxicburning.org for the latest information.

Background Information

Holcim has applied for a permit to burn up to 1.1 million tires per year (3,100 tires per day) at the headwaters of the Missouri River. Holcim calls it "recycling". We call it dangerous. We're concerned about what tire burning would mean to the Gallatin Valley's air and agricultural products.

If Holcim is allowed to burn tires, a wide range of hazardous pollutants will be released including the deadly chemical dioxin. These poisons pose a major threat to the health of our valley's residents, especially our children. Independent experts have found that the information submitted by Holcim underestimates the risks that will occur from eating locally produced food. More than 75 local doctors have signed a petition voicing their concern over Holcim's plan to burn tires.

Holcim’s outdated plant was built in 1910 and has experienced an alarming number of major equipment failures in recent years. Even though this facility is exceeding its pollution limits, the Martz administration has yet to take enforcement action. Holcim has state-of-the-art plants in Switzerland to protect their environment. Montanans deserve no less.

Holcim is owned by a Swiss multi-national conglomerate. If they are granted the permit, Holcim would save $225,000 per year. The profits would go to Switzerland, and the toxic effects would stay here. Holcim would have to import waste tires from other states. The Gallatin Valley would become a regional waste incinerator.

See our online video (Real Video (488K), Quicktime (1153K), Windows (222K) The one minute video gives a great overview of our campaign while taking you along for a tour of the plant.