Buck Wargo
CITY HALL -- Glendale officials are crying foul over a flier
distributed to residents Monday that warns of toxic dangers related to
the upgrading of the city's Grayson Power Plant.
The flier, which was distributed by a company that lost out on its bid
to upgrade the plant, encouraged people to attend Thursday's meeting of
the city's Environmental and Planning Board to oppose ammonia-based
pollution controls at the plant.
Glendale is negotiating with three companies to retrofit the gas
turbines at the plant, which opened in 1941. The city must reduce
emissions of nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide as mandated by the South
Coast Air Quality Management District.
The city plans to use technology that injects ammonia in gas boilers
to combine with the nitrogen oxide to form water vapor. The method is the
best practice for reducing air pollution and smog caused by nitrogen
oxide, said Bill Hall, electric services administrator for Glendale Water
& Power.
According to the flier distributed by Tennessee-based Goal Line
Environmental Technology, using ammonia will pollute the community and
pose dangers to the public through its transportation and storage. It
also stated the city will violate state law by approving the project
without a full environmental review.
"It is misleading," city spokesman Ritch Wells said of the flier. "It
says the plant plans to increase pollution. That is not true. This is the
technology widely used in the industry. It is used in Pasadena and Los
Angeles."
Wells said the full environmental review is not needed because
planning staff have determined the impact from the upgrade is not
significant.
Goal Line Vice President Allan Bedwell said his company was behind the
fliers because of its commitment against using ammonia. He said an
ammonia spill at a Riverside grocery store in September caused 100 people
to be evacuated and 32 people treated and released from the hospital.
"We are committed to ensuring that ammonia is not used throughout the
country because it is a hazardous chemical," Bedwell said. "We released
the information to the public because we wanted them to be aware of the
critical, important decision the city is facing that can impact safety
and welfare."
Goal Line uses platinum, which is not considered a hazardous
substance, said Richard Davis, a company salesman.
Hall said ammonia can damage lungs if too much is released in the air
at a time but said the process is closely controlled to prevent any
mishaps. Allowing nitrogen oxide in the air is bad for people too, he
said.
Goal Line was excluded from the negotiations because it submitted its
bid late, city officials said. The company's technology costs about $17
million, about $10 million more than using ammonia, officials said.
The board meets at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the council chambers of City
Hall, 613 E. Broadway.
