 |
|
|
| Mill works to control emissions |
|---|
| Woodgrain Millworks hopes to keep nearby neighborhoods free of wood particles, sawdust |
|---|
 | | ANNEMARIE KNEPPER/CENTRAL OREGONIAN | | Ronnie Harland, at the Woodgrain Millworks plant in Prineville, works to make the truck dumpsite and cyclone area more conducive to keeping dust out of the air. |
|
A local wood processing plant is hoping to keep fugitives out of surrounding neighborhoods and safely contained.
Those fugitives are fugitive emissions, or tiny wood particles escaping the Woodgrain Millworks plant facility, blowing through the air and coating nearby homes and cars with sawdust.
"It is an ongoing part of our business to become fugitive free," said Steve Forrester, general manager at Woodgrain.
The plant received a warning letter with opportunity to correct in September from the Department of Environmental Quality after the department received numerous wood fallout complaints from neighbors and conducted a sticky paper test, proving the mill was emitting more than the 250 micron fallout limit.
"I received a number of complaints around the community," said Frank Messina, environmental specialist at DEQ.
The micron limit of 250 is equivalent to a pen dot on a piece of paper, Messina explained.
The violation is class II, with I being the most serious violation and III the least serious.
In response, the Woodgrain Millworks submitted a three-part plan to DEQ to correct the issues.
"As a cours of business we ask DEQ to work with us to make sure we are always in compliance," Forrester said.
The plan includes washing down truck vans and inspecting cyclone machinery regularly to ensure all leaks are repaired and operating correctly, improving truck dump operations to limit errant dust by enclosing the truck loading site, and house keeping efforts to remove existing sawdust from the facility.
Management believes creating a truck enclosure will limit fugitive emissions most.
The area will also have negative air (vacuum) capability.
"It's a good opportunity to reduce our fugitive emissions," Forrester said of the improvements, which will cost the plant more than $100,000 to complete.
"We budget for a certain amount of capital improvement," Forrester said. "This would fall under environmental compliance."
The cyclone project and housekeeping efforts are already in effect. The truck dump operation is slated for completion March 1.
It is difficult to test the new systems as wet winter weather limits the amount of dust spread offsite by prevailing winds.
Forrester said the plant has invited DEQ to return in the spring to conduct new tests.
"It's hard to get a good reading during wet weather," Forrester said. "We really want to focus our efforts during the dry season to control our fugitive emissions to a level our neighbors are happy with."
In the meantime, "We can self monitor and we do self monitor," Forrester said.
Messina said future tests will follow.
"Come spring when we have things drying out we will do it again and see if we have improvement."
Wood processing plants have operated on the site since 1959. Woodgrain Millworks, Inc. in Prineville opened in August 2004.
|
| Go to top. |
|
|
|
