Fall of water tower signals new beginning for Alcoa plant

Blog post by Mark Gross, Alcoa Badin Facilities Manager

Ever since I came to work at Alcoa, a 120-foot water tower has stood high above the Badin plant.   

This morning, the water tower came down. The carefully planned removal of the tower is part of our ongoing efforts to prepare the plant site to attract new companies – and new jobs – to the community.

When the tower landed safely on the ground, it marked an important milestone in our preparations to site for new employers. For the community, it serves as a visible symbol of our commitment to give new life to the site.

This year, we’re spending more than $10 million to make the plant site more attractive for new companies. The work involves renovating buildings, removing equipment and razing buildings that don’t meet the needs of future tenants.

The water tower, erected in the 1960s to provide a backup water supply for our aluminum operations, had outlived its purpose and many local residents considered the structure an eyesore.

You can click here to watch video footage of the tower coming down. 

Alcoa Announces Environmental Hotline

Alcoa today announced that the company is making available its telephone hotline system for area residents to report any suspected environmental issues related to operation of the former Badin Works aluminum smelter or the Yadkin Hydroelectric Project.

The hotline is managed by a third-party, EthicsPoint, and is available 24 hours a day by calling 1-800-346-7319. EthicsPoint will take information from callers, who may remain anonymous if they choose. EthicsPoint then submits a report to Alcoa for handling.  Callers may check back periodically with EthicsPoint to receive updates from Alcoa on the status of the report and answer potential requests for more information or clarification. 

The hotline is being made available to collect information about suspected environmental contamination that area residents believe has not been previously reported or investigated. 

“Alcoa has worked closely with state and federal officials for more than 20 years to properly address environmental issues on our property,” said Kevin Anton, Chief Sustainability Officer for Alcoa. “While we are confident we have conducted a full and thorough survey, this hotline will help us be sure by making it easier for people to bring concerns to our attention.”  

Alcoa has operated a hotline system for employees since 1993.

Moving Forward with Badin Works Redevelopment

Alcoa announced this week that it will permanently close two idle smelting plants, including the Badin Works plant in Badin, North Carolina.  This is a positive step that will allow Alcoa to continue moving forward with its ongoing plans to redevelop the Badin Works site to attract new industry and new jobs to Badin and Stanly County.

 

The decision to officially close the plant helps pave the way for redeveloping the site by removing the need to preserve equipment and permits for a potential restart of the plant.  Alcoa officials are currently evaluating future plans for the site, including the potential demolition of buildings. 

 

Alcoa has a successful track record of redeveloping former smelter sites to attract new investment and new jobs that benefit the local community.  For example, a former smelter in Oregon is now a thriving industrial park and the redevelopment of a smelter in Washington state is creating up to 1,900 construction-related jobs. 

 

Alcoa will continue to work closely with state and federal officials to determine the appropriate steps to manage environmental issues associated with the site.

 

Built in 1917, Badin Works was one of the oldest and smallest aluminum smelters in the nation.  Changing economic conditions led Alcoa to reduce the plant’s production in 2002 and formally curtail operations in 2007.

 

This announcement does not impact Alcoa’s hydroelectric operations or the relicensing of the Yadkin Project.  The company continues to employ more than 30 people in Stanly County and remains the county’s largest taxpayer.

Alcoa requests permit modification

To ensure that it continues to comply with environmental regulations at the Badin Works aluminum smelter, Alcoa has submitted a request to the N.C. Department of Environment & Natural Resources to modify its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

Alcoa is requesting to redirect stormwater from a small ½ acre site within the Badin Works property to another stormwater discharge outfall. With this modification, Alcoa is confident that fluoride levels in stormwater entering Badin Lake will remain below the allowable limits. No new or increased flows or fluoride levels in the stormwater discharge from Badin Works are being requested.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring chemical that is used in the aluminum manufacturing process and waste containing fluoride was previously stored on the Badin Works property. As part of the remediation process at Badin Works, Alcoa removed this waste and the underlying soil from the ½ acre site in 1994 and disposed of it an appropriate industrial landfill.

Stormwater runoff from this ½ acre site contains low levels of fluoride, but does not pose any risk to people who use Badin Lake (swimmers or fisherman) or to the wildlife or aquatic life in Badin Lake. Monitoring shows that fluoride levels are typically within the limits set by US Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water.

As part of its environmental responsibility, Alcoa is continually looking at ways to reduce fluoride levels. During the past two years, Alcoa has spent more than $180,000 to identify and reduce the amount of fluoride in stormwater. These efforts have included a variety of steps, including but not limited to:

• Simulating rain events and collecting soil, sediment and water samples to better determine the source of fluoride.

• Minimizing contact between stormwater and surface soils by installing new liners in drainage channels, roadways and parking areas, then covering those areas with stone.

Background on Fluoride

Fluorides are naturally occurring compounds that are often added to drinking water supplies and a variety of dental products, including toothpaste and mouth rinses, to help prevent dental cavities. Small amounts of fluoride are beneficial. Over time, ingestion of very high levels of fluoride in drinking water may cause brittle bones in children and adults and mottled teeth in children.

For the prevention of dental decay, the Public Health Service has recommended since 1962 that public water supplies contain between 0.7 and 1.2 milligrams of fluoride per liter of drinking water. The Environmental Protection Agency has set a maximum amount of fluoride allowable in drinking water of 4.0 milligrams per liter of water.

The NPDES permit places limits on fluoride levels coming from a portion of the Badin Works plant to 1.8 milligrams per liter, even though these discharges are located far from drinking water withdrawals.