ILLINOIS POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

October

31, 1972

OLIN CORPORATION,

a Virginia

corporation~

vs.

)

PCB 72—357

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION

AGENCY

Patrick

0.

Boyle,

Attorney

for

Petitioner

Thomas

J.

Iminel,

Assistant Attorney General for the EPA

OPINION AND ORDER OF THE BOARD

(by Mr.

Henss)

Petitioner, the manufacturer of military flares, missile and

rocket igniters and jet aircraft starter cartridges, seeks

a one

year exter~sionof a variance which was granted by this Board in

decisions found at PCB71-60 and PCB 71-371.

The Variance, which

is to expi:~November

24,

1972,

authorizes the open burning of

explosive wastes by Olin Corporation on 290 acres of strip mined

land in Williamson County,

Illinois.

Both parties refer to this

as a “remote” area.

The materials used in Olin’s production include explosives,

pyrotechnics, propellants

and various inert components.

About

2

percent of this hazardous material becomes

scrap along with packaging

material which has become contaminated and is treated as explosive

waste.

The actual amounts of waste to be burned vary according to

production volume.

Maximum amounts to be burned in any week are:

Ammonium nitrate propellant

300

lbs.

Double base propellant

40 lbs.

Single base propellant

20 lbs.

Pyrotechnic flare mix

(high

magnesium content)

1500

lbs.

Fuel Oil

Sufficient to immerse pyrotechnic

mix

as required for safety

reasons

Contaminated packaging and

transfer materials

100

lbs.

The EPA calculates that this burning would cause weekly particulate

emissions of

822.3

lbs.,

CO emissions of

516

lbs. and NO emissions of

435 lbs.

These materials constitute a severe fire and explosion hazard.

Open burning has been acknowludged to be the only safe method of disposal

6

—

121

---

-2—

Failure

to

dispose

of

the

wastes

on

a

regular

basis

would

result

in

the closing of the Petitioners’ manufacturing plant.

Pursuant to the existing variance Olin Corp. is designing and

constructing an

experimental

incinerator

for

the

disposal

of

the

explosive wastes.

The anticipated completion date of July 1972 was

not met because severe flooding in Pennsylvania delayed the shipment

of necessary incinerator components.

The Variance Petition estimated

the completion date as October 1, 1972.

The EPA indicated that

completion was expected in September 1972.

Petitioner needs five

months for testing of the incinerator following its construction.

No reason is suggested for extending the variance a full year.

The EPA recommends that the

variance

be extended through March 31, 1973

or

until

the

incinerator

is

operational,

whichever

is

sooner

•

We

believe

the

eighteen

week

extension

is

sufficient

on

the

record

before

us.

If

problems

are

encountered

during

testing

which

make

a

further

extension

necessary

those

prqblems

sl3ould

be

brouqht

to

our

attention.

It

is

the

order

of

the

Pollution

Control

Board

that

the

Variance

granted

in

PCB

71-60

and

subsequently

extended

in

PCB

71—371

be

further

extended

through

March

31,

1973,

or

until

the

incinerator

is

operational,

whichever

time

is

shorter,

sufrject

to

all

conditions

of

the

Board’s

Orders in the two previous decisions.

I, Christan L. Moffett, Clerk of the Illinois Pollution Control

Board, hereby certify the above Opinion and O;fler was adopted this

.jJô1

day of October, 1972 by a vote of

~

to

3

~,4Lt

IC’

thristan L. Moffett,,~*4erk

Illinois Pollution Control

Board