.

St. Lawrence Cement

SaSaint St. Lawrence Cement is one of the most highly visible sources of environmental pollution on the Hudson River. It is situated on more than 40 acres in Greenport, NY. Its facilities include 20 other major buildings, including one 38-story tower, eight 23-story structures and two 19-story structures. Its proposed expansions include a 1,200-acre mine and a 406 foot tall smokestack that would emit a plume 6.3 miles long visible 85% of the day during the winter months.

This plume would carry tiny dust particles containing six out of the ten most hazardous substances known to science, including arsenic and mercury. Each year 386 pounds of lead, 208,400 pounds of volatile organic compounds and 490,000 pounds of dust would be released into the atmosphere and settle downwind within a range of 20 miles. According to the New York State Department of Health, Greene County, where Greenport is, has the third highest incidence of lung cancer in New York.

The medical staff at Columbia Memorial Hospital has opposed the plant, stating that the inhalation of these particles can result in increased asthma and cancer rates. The Department of Health has recommended against eating fish from the Hudson River because, in addition to PCB contamination, the fish contain unhealthy levels of mercury created partly by the cement plant. The most toxic form of mercury can travel across the placenta into the fetus brain, resulting in neurological development deficits. It can also become concentrated in breast milk. Mercury has been linked to cancer in the kidneys and liver, as well as neurological and cardiovascular damage.

Saint Lawrence Cement gets most of its power from burning mercury- and sulfur-laced coal. In an effort to appease environmentalists, SLC has proposed using "alternative" fuels. In reality these would include old tires and Hazardous Waste Fuel (HWF), all of which would be put back into the atmosphere in the form of dust particles. SLC has stated that it is "committed to sustainable development" and "recognizes the environmental impacts of its activities," yet it cannot commit to not burning toxic substances.

Saint Lawrence Cement has made many other claims about this proposed site. It has stated that it would create jobs, lower its impact on global warming and use the latest technology to create a safe plant. However, it has also stated that its work force would not significantly increase, as employees from the Catskill plant could simply move across the river. The Greenport site would also be allowed to increase their emissions of regulated pollutants by 24% anually, including twelve times more carbon monoxide than the Catskill site. They have also stated in SLC world, the company newsletter, that they would use the same technology to build the Greenport plant that they used in their problematic Mississauga plant, which was built in 1968.

Saint Lawrence Cement would also fill in the Hudson directly in front of it beyond the legal limits to create a dock from which it could ship and receive products and supplies. Although they have no legal rights to the land they have claimed it as theirs for the past 25 years and blocked a proposed restoration project. Not only are they denying people access to the river they would also be polluting it with emissions and inevitable accidental spills. Manufacturing facilites have been responsible for 17% of mercury spills in the Hudson River, including two evacuations.

SLC is currently being sued by Friends of the Hudson, The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, The Hudson Valley Preservation Coalition and the Natural Resources Defense Council. In January SLC was fined $20,000 for failing to operate emissions monitoring equipment. SLC has also been legally defeated 21 times in 14 states and Canada in the past nine years. This can hardly make a difference, though, to a company that spends $50,000 per month on public relations and advertising campaigns.

The Hudson Valley is listed by the National Trust as one of the eleven most endangeres historic places in the United States. It has also been designated as a Superfund Site by the EPA, meaning it is a National Priority of hazardous waste sites. Still, there are eight quarries mining metallic materials in the Hudson Bay and 15 power plants proposed for the Hudson River region.

Saint Lawrence Cement has made many claims about the opportunities it would bring to Greenport. All of these can be refuted and discredited. This is an industry for which there are no real benefits. It is in its nature to expand, meanwhile exploiting the people and environment it uses to operate.