Introduction

The INEOS Neville Plant is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is known for manufacturing olefins and polypropylene. Olefins are alkenes which is any hydrocarbon containing one or more bonds while polypropylene is a synthetic compound used to create ropes and fabrics(1). In simpler terms, The INEOS plant produces and manufactures polymers that are used in constructing pharmaceuticals and pipes(2). The problem with this plant is that this facility has exceeded pollution limits over a thousand times - the highest in the nation, which makes this a national issue. The amount of pollutants released into the nearby Ohio river is harmful to both the aquatic environment and recreational activities that might take place near the factory(3). Pollution including, chemical spills and disposal of toxic waste, harms the aquatic environment by disturbing the predation cycle and acidifying rain. This plant breached health and safety conditions as it got a notice for violation of not following ‘Waste Analysis Plan’. The plant had  not been disposing their waste properly which has led to such excess waste and as a result more than needed air pollution(4). Furthermore the pollution from this plant affects nearby vulnerable communities like McKees Rocks and Stowe. Even though the Neville Plant meets long term air quality standards proposed by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) the short term effects of air pollution is often too much for the citizens to handle.

               We see the same pattern with the Shenango Coke Factory which operated in the east end of Neville Island (Figure 1). However this factory was shut down in 2016 due to excess air pollution. The air pollution affected an air shed that was already saturated by numerous air pollution sources(5). The residents of Allegheny County expressed their concerns over the plant's poor air quality. This poor air quality was evidenced by increased levels of dust and other pollutants from emission released from Shenango’s smoke stacks. Furthermore this was captured by air monitoring equipment and by cameras. To sum it up, the factory was shut down due to protests as the community surrounding it wished to retain the improved air quality.

Figure 1:  The Shenango Coke Factory’s location and its heavily affected townships.

II. Problems:

The most significant problem associated with the INEOS Neville Plant was excess pollutants that were released into the environment. These pollutants include air, water and noise pollution along with toxic waste. Air pollution includes releases to gasses like carbon monoxide which is released in the manufacturing of polyurethane and other plastics which is. Another substance released is ground ozone by this plant which is known as ground smog and it accumulates in the lower levels of the atmosphere and causes significant health issues. Pollutants released from this plant are dumped into the nearby Ohio River as waste execution is not regulated(6). As far as noise pollution goes, multiple citizens in the surrounding area often complain of the unbearable noises that emanate from this plant. Citizens thought that the factories’s noise issues would be gone after the demolition of the Shenango Coke factory (Figure 2) but they describe INEOS’s noises as “screeching sound of crunching metal and occasional explosions'' that is heard “across the river from Metalico, only seemed to get worse”. Lastly toxic waste is usually difficult to dispose of and can pose serious problems as they pose a biological hazard. The radioactive substances that originate from this are usually exposed to radioactive elements  and can contaminate soil and water. In this case the soil and water would be the one near the Pittsburgh Area and Ohio river in Pennsylvania. As a result of all these different types of pollution, two main aspects of the environment were harmed: the aquatic environment and air quality. The owners of this manufacturing plant completely disregarded multiple violations that were inflicted upon this plant. It  is seen that the INEOS had not been following the analytical method specified in the WAP since it first began performing analyses. WAP is the Windsor Assembly Plant which sets the protocols, especially ones about waste disposal, that is expected to be followed by numerous plants.

III. Cause:

Incorrect disposal of toxic waste is one of the most significant causes of the numerous types of pollutants resulting from this plant. Correct disposal of toxic waste includes dumping all this waste into a landfill which protects groundwater and surface water. Such disposal is recommended by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)(7). Based on the statistics acquired from google maps the closest waste management service to the INEOS plant (Figure 3) is the ‘MAX Environmental Technologies’ which is just 7.8 miles from the plant. The plant never made use of this and as a result is suffering from many violations and protests from community members. As expected the Shenango Coke factory also did not dispose of their waste in a proper fashion as the EPA had quite a few concerns with it. Groundwater was found contaminated at this facility with benzene, chloroform, naphthalene, arsenic and manganese, thus the soil was potentially contaminated with these same contaminants. A decade before the factory was closed down it did however meet the Current Human Exposures Under Control environmental indicator as indicated by the EPA.

The right path for disposal would be that the waste would have to be first generated by the factory. This toxic waste could be harmful byproducts created from the olefins and polypropylene manufacturers at INEOS(8). Next the waste should have been transported to MAX Environmental Technologies in Pittsburgh, PA. Lastly, the disposal should have been left to this waste management company as MAX uses Solid Waste Stabilization and Solidification (SWSS) systems to treat high volumes of soils, sludges and debris delivered in bulk or containers from nearby manufacturing plants. This process involves mixing a waste with a binding agent, like cement or clay, which is a substance that makes loose materials stick together. Then this mixture is buried into the ground where it takes up to months to fully decompose. This process is safe and effective as these materials do not pose a threat to workers or the community. Which goes to show that if this method was pursued by the INEOS plant it would have not only led to less pollution but less harm to the air quality and the aquatic environment.

IV. Solution:

Based on the prediction that the SWSS (Figure 4) could be a viable solution this section will evaluate this solution’s viability in context of the INEOS Neville plant. Solidification and Stabilization refer to a method of cleanup that slows the release of chemicals from waste in this case which may include ammonia and sulfur dioxide and nitrogen. It works by binding the waste into a solid block which causes a chemical reaction that makes the pollutants less likely to be spilled back into the environment(9). This process usually takes weeks or even several months to compete and is dependent on quite a few factors. These include the size of the contaminated area, density of the soil, and even climate at times. This process is safe because of multiple factors. The strength of the solidified block is tested to make sure that the chemicals do not leak. This process does not pose a major threat to employees and the environment if carried out with safety measures kept in mind. One downside of this is that citizens may notice higher truck traffic as materials are transported to the site or from it. Once these equipment are done being used, the land does have to be redeveloped again in order to prove viable for the citizens to further industrialize it.

               An example to prove that these solutions can be implemented is seen by the Superfund site in Arkansas. This process was used at this site in the 1960s when the area was contaminated with wastes such as pesticides and lead. Cranes or ‘earth-moving’ equipment were used to inject cement into the waste area. The additives were then added to help solidify the material which was then covered. Further inspects in the 2000s showed that human health, in the nearby cities of the site in Arkansas, was healthy. Furthermore, due to this process, in a few decades, the site's label as the most hazardous waste site was eradicated.

V. Prediction:

Our prediction is that this manufacturing issue of environmental pollution will not come to a fix, even with the wastewater treatment plant nearby. This is mainly because of the pollutants that this plant releases. The pollutants it releases are primary pollutants like ammonia, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. This is since there are a lot of other businesses surrounding the plant which attract customers. The issue of air pollution from the plant can also affect these people and can be harmful to safely dispose of the toxic waste excreted by the plant(10).

Moreover, the INEOS manufacturing plant is located on an island so it would be hard to ship the waste to a different location (Figure 5). Thus, INEOS would still have to continue dumping its waste into the Ohio lake(12). This would impact the aquatic environment in Ohio lake and the drinking water for people. For these reasons, we predict that the manufacturing issue in the INEOS plant will end up with the INEOS plant coming to a shut down, similar to the Shenango plant that preceded it.

Figure 5: A side view of the INEOS Neville Island Plant.

VI. Conclusion:

Based on our causes and predictions the most safe and probable decision for this plant would be to be closed down quite like the Shenango Coke Factory. The INEOS Neville plant mainly manufactures olefins and polypropylene. Pollutants include chemical spills and disposal of toxic waste.  The problem leads to air pollution and noise pollution and such kinds of pollution not only leads to citizens voicing for a cleaner environment but also leads to deprivation of oxygen and other nutrients in water bodies near the Ohio river. Furthermore the incorrect process of such toxic water can also lead to a potential of biological hazard in the nearby environments.

A main cause for these excessive pollutants in the nearby city of Pittsburgh is the incorrect disposal of not just any kind of waste but especially toxic waste. Correct disposal would include going to the nearby wastewater treatment plant and taking advantage of their SWSS system. If such a process was followed the waste would not only be disposed of rightly but it would also lead to a more purer air quality as coined by nearby citizens. Even if this process was put to use it would not be as effective as closing the factory because the damage done is already too much to reverse. Based on these factors we think that these processes will not come to an end especially considering the kinds of pollutants this plant releases which ranges from ammonia to sulfur dioxide. We also believe that since this plant is located on an island it will be even harder to dispose of the waste in an orderly fashion due to high transportation costs.