The NH Dept. of Environmental Services (NHDES) has instructed Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics (SGPP) to investigate and apply for a permit to install air pollution controls on its Merrimack facility. According to an EPA statement, the notification requires SGPP to submit an application and best available control technology analysis within six months. This request follows two years of investigation by NHDES. A law that became effective on September 8, 2018, authorized the Department to require controls for air emissions of certain PFAS compounds that impact soil and water.
SGPP has been working collaboratively with NHDES to perform stack tests in 2016 and 2018 to evaluate PFAS compound emissions from the facility and to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot scale control device. The investigation concluded that the facility continues to have small emissions of PFAS compounds which could contribute to the existing groundwater exceedances of the current state Ambient Groundwater Quality Standard (AGQS) of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), 70 ppt for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and 70 ppt for PFOA and PFOS combined.
The letter and supporting documents will be posted on the NHDES Onestop database.
Current Issue - April 2024