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Chemists Chase ‘Clean’ Ammonia to Replace Shipping Fuel

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Sunday, May 19, 2024

CLIMATEWIRE | The stinky ammonia under your sink comes from one of the world's dirtiest industries. That might change with the help of President Joe Biden’s climate law.Ammonia production is a carbon-intensive process that uses fossil fuels to make the pungent-smelling chemical, which is often used to make fertilizers. But some companies think it could also as a carbon-free fuel for cargo ships or to generate electricity.Its climate stakes are massive. But so is its potential for clean energy — because it doesn't release any carbon emissions at the point of use.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.A Danish company named Topsoe is planning to build a factory in Virginia that will produce electrolyzers, a device that can make clean hydrogen when powered by solar or wind energy. The electrolyzers will be installed at a new plant in Texas that plans to use the hydrogen to make "green ammonia," which will be sold to a German power company. The Inflation Reduction Act is driving the investments for both facilities by offering billions of dollars through advanced energy programs.Ammonia production accounts for roughly 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That alone could make the greening of ammonia a massive climate prize. But some experts see bigger solutions: In addition to decarbonizing ammonia for fertilizer, it could also be used to nearly eliminate emissions from oceangoing cargo ships and to replace natural gas and coal in electricity generation.“We are seeing remarkable progress on these things,” said Julio Friedmann, an expert on green ammonia and chief scientist at Carbon Direct, which advises companies about reducing their emissions. “Fundamentally, companies and governments are taking this stuff very seriously. It is across the board.”The Inflation Reduction Act, with its $370 billion in climate funding, has put the U.S. on the front lines of cleaning up the ammonia industry. A New York-based startup called First Ammonia initially planned on building its first green ammonia plant in Europe. But it changed course after Russia invaded Ukraine and Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, in 2022.The company settled on Texas for its first facility, thanks to the state's abundance of renewable energy and its industrial infrastructure along the Gulf of Mexico. It's set to break ground at the Port of Victoria later this year on a plant that can produce 300,000 tons of ammonia annually. The company announced a partnership last year to sell ammonia to Uniper, a German power company.The operation has been made possible in large part due to the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy tax credits.“It significantly reduces the price point at which we need to sell our ammonia to be able to be productive,” said First Ammonia CEO Joel Moser in an interview. “So it's a huge step.”The company sees maritime shipping and electricity generation as growth markets for ammonia, fueling cargo ships and supplementing wind and solar in the power sector."That's an ideal future, a future where we've electrified all that we can and the things we can't we're using hydrogen application, specifically ammonia," Moser said.Roughly 180 million tons of ammonia is sold globally every year for more than $100 billion. About 70 percent of it is used for fertilizers, according to the International Energy Agency.'A big pivot'Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, is historically carbon intensive, and the production of hydrogen is particularly dirty. It relies on using natural gas or coal and accounts for more than 90 percent of the emissions associated with ammonia production, according to a 2022 paper by the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum. By the IEA's estimate, ammonia production is about two times as emission intensive as producing crude steel.Green hydrogen has emerged as a key to cleaning up ammonia. Electricity is used to split a water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. If wind or solar technologies are used to supply that power, it is considered "green" hydrogen. It has a variety of potential uses, but ammonia production is among the most promising. The consulting firm Wood Mackenzie estimates that roughly 39 percent of announced green hydrogen projects globally would be used to make ammonia, though the firm thinks many of those projects won't be built.That is where Topsoe, the Danish industrial company, comes in. While not a household name in the U.S., Topsoe is a major player in the chemical industry. The company estimates that a third of global ammonia is made using its technologies. Nearly all of that was traditionally done by using fossil fuels.But the company is starting to pivot. Armed with a $136 million Inflation Reduction Act tax credit from the Energy Department, Topsoe is planning to build a $400 million electrolyzer factory in Chesterfield, Virginia. Its plans are subject to completing a DOE certification process that can take up to two years. First Ammonia is the company’s first customer.The move to build electrolyzers is a part of a wider shift for Topsoe. Cleaner technologies like biodiesel now account for about a fifth of its revenue, up from nothing four years ago, said Topsoe CEO Roeland Baan. The company is also building a second electrolyzer facility in Denmark.“We have this enormous portfolio of products and technologies that are useful for the energy transition, and so we decided to make a big pivot,” Baan said in an interview. “And we set our vision to be recognized as a leader in decarbonization technologies.”All-purpose ammoniaGreen ammonia producers have several factors working in their favor. A global network of ports, ships and pipelines already exist to ship ammonia. The gas is considered a clean fuel because it lacks carbon molecules.Japan has committed to using green ammonia to help decarbonize its power sector by co-blending it with coal. The government hopes to reach 100 percent ammonia electricity generation by midcentury. The move has encountered resistance from environmental groups, which say using ammonia could extend the life of coal plants.An even bigger prize may be the marine shipping industry, which releases 2 percent of global emissions. Shipping companies are experimenting with new vessels that burn a blend of diesel and ammonia. Maersk, the international shipping giant, recently ordered four ammonia-fueled vessels with the potential to buy six more. Trafigura, another large shipper, recently ordered six ships.But hurdles remain. Ammonia has a high ignition temperature; that's one reason it is often blended with another fuel. It is also corrosive. Green ammonia remains more expensive to produce than its fossil fuel-made counterparts. And while burning ammonia doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, controls are needed to curtail emissions of another air pollutant, nitrogen oxide.Current and former Biden administration officials said the tax credits awarded to Topsoe reflect a shift in the government’s approach on those issues. DOE has long supported early stage technological research. But the department under Biden is providing additional assistance to companies that are trying to make the jump from the laboratory to the marketplace.Topsoe was one of 35 projects that received $1.93 billion in tax credits under DOE’s Advanced Energy Project Credit. The credits are part of a multifaceted approach, said Costa Samaras, a former Biden administration official who now leads the Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.The credits to Topsoe are aimed at reducing the price of building a manufacturing facility, like the company’s electrolyzer plant. Other sources of Inflation Reduction Act money are available to companies like First Ammonia through the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, to help stimulate demand for climate-friendly products.“We're now on this glide path to net-zero in 25 ½ years," Samaras said. “So we need the types of clean manufacturing supply chain to deliver the speed and scale of clean equipment, so that we're realizing the emissions reductions within the time frame that we have.”Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

President Biden’s climate law is funding “green ammonia” projects in hopes of using the chemical to more cleanly power the grid, fuel cargo ships and make fertilizer

CLIMATEWIRE | The stinky ammonia under your sink comes from one of the world's dirtiest industries. That might change with the help of President Joe Biden’s climate law.

Ammonia production is a carbon-intensive process that uses fossil fuels to make the pungent-smelling chemical, which is often used to make fertilizers. But some companies think it could also as a carbon-free fuel for cargo ships or to generate electricity.

Its climate stakes are massive. But so is its potential for clean energy — because it doesn't release any carbon emissions at the point of use.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

A Danish company named Topsoe is planning to build a factory in Virginia that will produce electrolyzers, a device that can make clean hydrogen when powered by solar or wind energy. The electrolyzers will be installed at a new plant in Texas that plans to use the hydrogen to make "green ammonia," which will be sold to a German power company. The Inflation Reduction Act is driving the investments for both facilities by offering billions of dollars through advanced energy programs.

Ammonia production accounts for roughly 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That alone could make the greening of ammonia a massive climate prize. But some experts see bigger solutions: In addition to decarbonizing ammonia for fertilizer, it could also be used to nearly eliminate emissions from oceangoing cargo ships and to replace natural gas and coal in electricity generation.

“We are seeing remarkable progress on these things,” said Julio Friedmann, an expert on green ammonia and chief scientist at Carbon Direct, which advises companies about reducing their emissions. “Fundamentally, companies and governments are taking this stuff very seriously. It is across the board.”

The Inflation Reduction Act, with its $370 billion in climate funding, has put the U.S. on the front lines of cleaning up the ammonia industry. A New York-based startup called First Ammonia initially planned on building its first green ammonia plant in Europe. But it changed course after Russia invaded Ukraine and Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, in 2022.

The company settled on Texas for its first facility, thanks to the state's abundance of renewable energy and its industrial infrastructure along the Gulf of Mexico. It's set to break ground at the Port of Victoria later this year on a plant that can produce 300,000 tons of ammonia annually. The company announced a partnership last year to sell ammonia to Uniper, a German power company.

The operation has been made possible in large part due to the Inflation Reduction Act's clean energy tax credits.

“It significantly reduces the price point at which we need to sell our ammonia to be able to be productive,” said First Ammonia CEO Joel Moser in an interview. “So it's a huge step.”

The company sees maritime shipping and electricity generation as growth markets for ammonia, fueling cargo ships and supplementing wind and solar in the power sector.

"That's an ideal future, a future where we've electrified all that we can and the things we can't we're using hydrogen application, specifically ammonia," Moser said.

Roughly 180 million tons of ammonia is sold globally every year for more than $100 billion. About 70 percent of it is used for fertilizers, according to the International Energy Agency.

'A big pivot'

Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen, is historically carbon intensive, and the production of hydrogen is particularly dirty. It relies on using natural gas or coal and accounts for more than 90 percent of the emissions associated with ammonia production, according to a 2022 paper by the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum. By the IEA's estimate, ammonia production is about two times as emission intensive as producing crude steel.

Green hydrogen has emerged as a key to cleaning up ammonia. Electricity is used to split a water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen. If wind or solar technologies are used to supply that power, it is considered "green" hydrogen. It has a variety of potential uses, but ammonia production is among the most promising. The consulting firm Wood Mackenzie estimates that roughly 39 percent of announced green hydrogen projects globally would be used to make ammonia, though the firm thinks many of those projects won't be built.

That is where Topsoe, the Danish industrial company, comes in. While not a household name in the U.S., Topsoe is a major player in the chemical industry. The company estimates that a third of global ammonia is made using its technologies. Nearly all of that was traditionally done by using fossil fuels.

But the company is starting to pivot. Armed with a $136 million Inflation Reduction Act tax credit from the Energy Department, Topsoe is planning to build a $400 million electrolyzer factory in Chesterfield, Virginia. Its plans are subject to completing a DOE certification process that can take up to two years. First Ammonia is the company’s first customer.

The move to build electrolyzers is a part of a wider shift for Topsoe. Cleaner technologies like biodiesel now account for about a fifth of its revenue, up from nothing four years ago, said Topsoe CEO Roeland Baan. The company is also building a second electrolyzer facility in Denmark.

“We have this enormous portfolio of products and technologies that are useful for the energy transition, and so we decided to make a big pivot,” Baan said in an interview. “And we set our vision to be recognized as a leader in decarbonization technologies.”

All-purpose ammonia

Green ammonia producers have several factors working in their favor. A global network of ports, ships and pipelines already exist to ship ammonia. The gas is considered a clean fuel because it lacks carbon molecules.

Japan has committed to using green ammonia to help decarbonize its power sector by co-blending it with coal. The government hopes to reach 100 percent ammonia electricity generation by midcentury. The move has encountered resistance from environmental groups, which say using ammonia could extend the life of coal plants.

An even bigger prize may be the marine shipping industry, which releases 2 percent of global emissions. Shipping companies are experimenting with new vessels that burn a blend of diesel and ammonia. Maersk, the international shipping giant, recently ordered four ammonia-fueled vessels with the potential to buy six more. Trafigura, another large shipper, recently ordered six ships.

But hurdles remain. Ammonia has a high ignition temperature; that's one reason it is often blended with another fuel. It is also corrosive. Green ammonia remains more expensive to produce than its fossil fuel-made counterparts. And while burning ammonia doesn’t emit carbon dioxide, controls are needed to curtail emissions of another air pollutant, nitrogen oxide.

Current and former Biden administration officials said the tax credits awarded to Topsoe reflect a shift in the government’s approach on those issues. DOE has long supported early stage technological research. But the department under Biden is providing additional assistance to companies that are trying to make the jump from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Topsoe was one of 35 projects that received $1.93 billion in tax credits under DOE’s Advanced Energy Project Credit. The credits are part of a multifaceted approach, said Costa Samaras, a former Biden administration official who now leads the Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.

The credits to Topsoe are aimed at reducing the price of building a manufacturing facility, like the company’s electrolyzer plant. Other sources of Inflation Reduction Act money are available to companies like First Ammonia through the Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, to help stimulate demand for climate-friendly products.

“We're now on this glide path to net-zero in 25 ½ years," Samaras said. “So we need the types of clean manufacturing supply chain to deliver the speed and scale of clean equipment, so that we're realizing the emissions reductions within the time frame that we have.”

Reprinted from E&E News with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2024. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.

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California regulators approve rules to curb methane leaks and prevent fires at landfills

California air regulators adopted new rules designed to reduce methane leaks and better respond to disastrous underground fires at landfills statewide.

In one of the most important state environmental decisions this year, California air regulators adopted new rules designed to reduce methane leaks and better respond to disastrous underground fires at landfills statewide. California Air Resources Board members voted 12-0 on Thursday to approve a batch of new regulations for the state’s nearly 200 large landfills, designed to minimize the release of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas produced by decomposing organic waste. Landfills are California’s second-largest source of methane emissions, following only the state’s large dairy cow and livestock herds.The new requirements will force landfill operators to install additional pollution controls; more comprehensively investigate methane leaks on parts of landfills that are inaccessible with on-the-ground monitoring using new technology like drones and satellites; and fix equipment breakdowns much faster. Landfill operators also will be required to repair leaks identified through California’s new satellite-detection program. The regulation is expected to prevent the release of 17,000 metric tons of methane annually — an amount capable of warming the atmosphere as much as 110,000 gas-fired cars driven for a year. It also will curtail other harmful landfill pollution, such as lung-aggravating sulfur and cancer-causing benzene. Landfill operators will be required to keep better track of high temperatures and take steps to minimize the fire risks that heat could create. There are underground fires burning in at least two landfills in Southern California — smoldering chemical reactions that are incinerating buried garbage, releasing toxic fumes and spewing liquid waste. Regulators found explosive levels of methane emanating from many other landfills across the state.During the three-hour Air Resources Board hearing preceding the vote, several Californians who live near Chiquita Canyon Landfill — one of the known sites where garbage is burning deep underground — implored the board to act to prevent disasters in other communities across the state.“If these rules were already updated, maybe my family wouldn’t be sick,” said Steven Howse, a 27-year resident of Val Verde. “My house wouldn’t be for sale. My close friend and neighbor would still live next door to me. And I wouldn’t be pleading with you right now. You have the power to change this.”Landfill operators, including companies and local governments, voiced their concern about the costs and labor needed to comply with the regulation. “We want to make sure that the rule is implementable for our communities, not unnecessarily burdensome,” said John Kennedy, a senior policy advocate for Rural County Representatives of California, a nonprofit organization representing 40 of the state’s 58 counties, many of which own and operate landfills. “While we support the overarching goals of the rule, we remain deeply concerned about specific measures including in the regulation.”Lauren Sanchez, who was appointed chair of the California Air Resources Board in October, recently attended the United Nations’ COP30 climate conference in Brazil with Gov. Gavin Newsom. What she learned at the summit, she said, made clear to her that California’s methane emissions have international consequences, and that the state has an imperative to reduce them. “The science is clear, acting now to reduce emissions of methane and other short-lived climate pollutants is the best way to immediately slow the pace of climate change,” Sanchez said.

Chemicals
Climate
Government

Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability

The habitable zone of a planet might be key to whether life can survive there. But so are exoplanet atmospheres, scientists say. The post Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability first appeared on EarthSky.

Artist’s concept of exoplanet GJ 9827 d. It might be a steam world, with lots of water vapor in its atmosphere. Astronomers say exoplanet atmospheres are a key to whether or not life could survive on a planet. Image via NASA/ ESA/ Leah Hustak (STScI)/ Ralf Crawford (STScI)/ University of Montreal. Scientists focus on the habitable zone (where liquid water might exist) when they are gauging whether an exoplanet could be habitable. But exoplanet atmospheres are also key to whether a planet can maintain stable, life-supporting conditions. For life to persist on a planet, the environment must be stable. A planet’s surface, oceans and atmosphere can work together to regulate the system. By Morgan Underwood, Rice University EarthSky isn’t powered by billionaires. We’re powered by you.Support EarthSky’s 2025 Donation Campaign and help keep science accessible. Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability When astronomers search for planets that could host liquid water on their surface, they start by looking at a star’s habitable zone. Water is a key ingredient for life, and on a planet too close to its star, water on its surface may boil. Too far, and it could freeze. This zone marks the region in-between. But being in this sweet spot doesn’t automatically mean a planet is hospitable to life. Other factors, like whether a planet is geologically active or has processes that regulate gases in its atmosphere, play a role. The habitable zone provides a useful guide to search for signs of life on exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system orbiting other stars. But what’s in these planets’ atmospheres holds the next clue about whether liquid water – and possibly life – exists beyond Earth. The greenhouse effect On Earth, the greenhouse effect, caused by gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor, keeps the planet warm enough for liquid water and life as we know it. Without an atmosphere, Earth’s surface temperature would average around 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 C), far below the freezing point of water. The boundaries of the habitable zone are defined by how much of a greenhouse effect is necessary to maintain the surface temperatures that allow for liquid water to persist. It’s a balance between sunlight and atmospheric warming. Many planetary scientists, including me, are seeking to understand if the processes responsible for regulating Earth’s climate are operating on other habitable-zone worlds. We use what we know about Earth’s geology and climate to predict how these processes might appear elsewhere. That is where my geoscience expertise comes in. Picturing the habitable zone of a solar system analog, with Venus- and Mars-like planets outside of the “just right” temperature zone. Image via NASA. Why the habitable zone? The habitable zone is a simple and powerful idea, and for good reason. It provides a starting point, directing astronomers to where they might expect to find planets with liquid water. But without needing to know every detail about the planet’s atmosphere or history. Its definition is partially informed by what scientists know about Earth’s rocky neighbors. Mars, which lies just outside the outer edge of the habitable zone, shows clear evidence of ancient rivers and lakes where liquid water once flowed. Similarly, Venus is currently too close to the sun to be within the habitable zone. Yet, some geochemical evidence and modeling studies suggest Venus may have had water in its past. Though how much and for how long remains uncertain. These examples show that while the habitable zone is not a perfect predictor of habitability, it provides a useful starting point. How to have a stable environment What the habitable zone doesn’t do is determine whether a planet can sustain habitable conditions over long periods of time. On Earth, a stable climate allowed life to emerge and persist. Liquid water could remain on the surface, giving slow chemical reactions enough time to build the molecules of life. This let early ecosystems develop resilience to change, which reinforced habitability. Life emerged on Earth, but continued to reshape the environments it evolved in, making them more conducive to life. This stability likely unfolded over hundreds of millions of years, as the planet’s surface, oceans and atmosphere worked together as part of a slow but powerful system to regulate Earth’s temperature. Recycling inorganic carbon A key part of this system is how Earth recycles inorganic carbon between the atmosphere, surface and oceans over the course of millions of years. Inorganic carbon refers to carbon bound in atmospheric gases, dissolved in seawater or locked in minerals, rather than biological material. This part of the carbon cycle acts like a natural thermostat. When volcanoes release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the carbon dioxide molecules trap heat and warm the planet. As temperatures rise, rain and weathering draw carbon out of the air and store it in rocks and oceans. If the planet cools, this process slows down. This allows carbon dioxide, a warming greenhouse gas, to build up in the atmosphere again. This part of the carbon cycle has helped Earth recover from past ice ages and avoid runaway warming. Even as the sun has gradually brightened, this cycle has contributed to keeping temperatures on Earth within a range where liquid water and life can persist for long spans of time. Similar cycles in exoplanet atmospheres? Now, scientists are asking whether similar geological processes might operate on other planets. And if so, how they might detect them. For example, if researchers could observe enough rocky planets in their stars’ habitable zones, they could look for a pattern connecting the amount of sunlight a planet receives and how much carbon dioxide is in its atmosphere. Finding such a pattern may hint that the same kind of carbon-cycling process could be operating elsewhere. The mix of gases in a planet’s atmosphere is shaped by what’s happening on or below its surface. One study shows that measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide in a number of rocky planets could reveal whether their surfaces are broken into a number of moving plates, like Earth’s, or if their crusts are more rigid. On Earth, these shifting plates drive volcanism and rock weathering, which are key to carbon cycling. Simulation of what space telescopes, like the Habitable Worlds Observatory, will capture when looking at distant solar systems. Image via STScI/ NASA GSFC. Keeping an eye on distant exoplanet atmospheres The next step will be toward gaining a population-level perspective of planets in their stars’ habitable zones. By analyzing atmospheric data from many rocky planets, researchers can look for trends that reveal the influence of underlying planetary processes, such as the carbon cycle. Scientists could then compare these patterns with a planet’s position in the habitable zone. Doing so would allow them to test whether the zone accurately predicts where habitable conditions are possible, or whether some planets maintain conditions suitable for liquid water beyond the zone’s edges. This kind of approach is especially important given the diversity of exoplanets. Many exoplanets fall into categories that don’t exist in our solar system. These include super Earths and mini Neptunes. Others orbit stars smaller and cooler than the sun. NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory The datasets needed to explore and understand this diversity are just on the horizon. NASA’s upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory will be the first space telescope designed specifically to search for signs of habitability and life on planets orbiting other stars. It will directly image Earth-sized planets around sunlike stars to study their atmospheres in detail. Instruments on the observatory will analyze starlight passing through these atmospheres to detect gases like carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and oxygen. As starlight filters through a planet’s atmosphere, different molecules absorb specific wavelengths of light, leaving behind a chemical fingerprint that reveals which gases are present. These compounds offer insight into the processes shaping these worlds. The Habitable Worlds Observatory is under active scientific and engineering development, with a potential launch targeted for the 2030s. Combined with today’s telescopes, which are increasingly capable of observing atmospheres of Earth-sized worlds, scientists may soon be able to determine whether the same planetary processes that regulate Earth’s climate are common throughout the galaxy, or uniquely our own. NASA’s planned Habitable Worlds Observatory will look for exoplanets that could potentially host life. Morgan Underwood, Ph.D. Candidate in Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Bottom line: The habitable zone of a planet might be key to whether life can survive there. But so are exoplanet atmospheres, scientists say.The post Exoplanet atmospheres are a key to habitability first appeared on EarthSky.

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Some California landfills are on fire and leaking methane. Newly proposed rules could make them safer

California is considering adopting new rules to better identify and more quickly to respond to dangerous methane leaks and underground fires at landfills statewide.

A vast canyon of buried garbage has been smoldering inside a landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley, inducing geysers of liquid waste onto the surface and noxious fumes into the air.In the Inland Empire, several fires have broken out on the surface of another landfill. In the San Fernando Valley, an elementary school has occasionally canceled recess due to toxic gases emanating from rain-soaked, rotting garbage from a nearby landfill. And, in the San Francisco Bay Area, burrowing rodents may be digging into entombed trash at a landfill-turned-park, unloosing explosive levels of methane.These are just a few of the treacherous episodes that have recently transpired at landfills in California, subjecting the state’s waste management industry to growing scrutiny by residents and regulators.Landfill emissions — produced by decaying food, paper and other organic waste — are a major source of planet-warming greenhouse gases and harmful air pollution statewide. But mismanagement, aging equipment and inadequate oversight have worsened this pollution in recent years, according to environmental regulators and policy experts.This week, the California Air Resources Board will vote on adopting a new slate of requirements to better identify and more quickly respond to methane leaks and disastrous underground fires at large landfills statewide.The proposal calls for using satellites, drones and other new technologies to more comprehensively investigate methane leaks. It also would require landfill operators to take corrective action within a few days of finding methane leaks or detecting elevated temperatures within their pollution control systems.In recent years, state regulators have pinpointed at least two landfills in Southern California experiencing “rare” underground landfill fires — largely uncontrollable disasters that have burned troves of buried garbage and released toxic fumes into the air. More recently, a new state satellite program has detected 17 methane plumes from nine landfills between July and October, potentially leaking the flammable gas into unwanted areas and contributing to climate change.Proponents of the proposed rule say the added oversight could help reduce California’s second-largest source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere much more than carbon dioxide. It could also bring relief to hundreds of thousands of people who live nearby landfills and may be exposed to toxic pollutants like hydrogen sulfide or benzene.“Curbing methane emissions is a relatively quick and cost-effective way to reduce the greenhouse pollution that’s wreaking havoc with our climate,” said Bill Magavern, policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air. “But [we’ve] also been involved in updating and strengthening the rule because we’re seeing the community impacts of leaking landfills, particularly at places like Chiquita Canyon, where we have a landfill fire that is making people in the community sick.”Nearly 200 landfills statewide would be subject to the proposed requirements — 48 are privately owned and 140 are government-owned.Many landfill operators oppose the rule, saying the new requirements would saddle the industry with an untenable workload and millions of dollars each year in added costs. These costs could be passed on to residents, whose garbage fees have already risen significantly in recent years.Sacramento County officials, who operate the Kiefer Landfill, said the proposed protocols were not feasible. “As a public landfill, Kiefer cannot quickly adapt to regulatory shifts of this magnitude, and these increased costs would ultimately burden the community it serves,” Sacramento County officials wrote in a Nov. 10 letter to the state Air Resources Board.The vast majority of landfills are already required to monitor for leaks and operate a gas collection system — a network of wells that extend deep into the layers of buried waste to capture and destroy methane.A hot messChiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic has become the poster child for the issues plaguing California’s waste management system.A blistering-hot chemical reaction began inside the landfill’s main canyon in May 2022, roasting garbage in a roughly 30-acre area.Starting in April 2023, residents of Castaic and nearby Val Verde began to take notice. They called in thousands of odor complaints to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, with many citing headaches, nausea, nosebleeds and difficulty breathing.Later that year, state regulators learned that the landfill’s temperatures had risen above 200 degrees, melting plastic pipes used to collect landfill gases. An air district inspector also witnessed geysers of liquid waste bursting onto the surface and white smoke venting from large cracks spreading across the reaction area.Air sampling found elevated levels of lung-aggravating sulfur pollutants and cancer-causing benzene. Air samples in 2023 detected benzene concentrations more than eight times higher than the state’s short-term health limit at Hasley Canyon Park, which abuts Live Oak Elementary School, alarming local parents.“I personally have transferred my children to different schools further away,” said Jennifer Elkins, a Val Verde resident whose children attended Live Oak. “I spend three hours a day driving my kids to and from school. The commute has been a sacrifice, but it’s also been well worth it, because I know my children are breathing cleaner air, and I have seen their health improve.”The landfill, owned by Texas-based Waste Connections, installed new heat-resistant equipment to extract liquid waste in an attempt to reduce broiling temperatures. It also installed a large covering over the affected area to suppress odors. It permanently closed and ceased accepting waste this year.Still, the reaction area has tripled in size and could consume the entire 160-acre canyon for many more years. During other underground landfill fires, elevated temperatures have persisted for more than a decade.The issue is, once these broiling temperatures start consuming landfill waste, there’s little that landfill operators can do to snuff them out.The fumes from Chiquita Canyon have pushed some longtime residents to consider moving. After more than 25 years in Val Verde, Abigail DeSesa is contemplating starting anew somewhere else.“This is our life’s investment — our forever home that we were building for retirement and on the verge of paying off,” DeSesa said. “And we may have to start over.”“I don’t know that I can outlast it,” DeSesa added.Chiquita Canyon is not alone.Earlier this year, the South Coast air district learned about another fiery chemical reaction brewing inside El Sobrante Landfill in Corona. In August, Waste Management, the landfill’s owner and operator, acknowledged there was a two-acre “area of concern” where landfill staff had observed temperatures climbing above 200 degrees. Riverside County inspectors also found several fires had ignited on the landfill’s surface in recent years, according to public records.Environmental advocates fear that many more landfills may be on the precipice of these largely unmanageable disasters.According to an analysis by California Communities Against Toxics, there are 18 landfills in California that have had prolonged heat signatures detected by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, an online tool using satellite instruments to detect fires and thermal anomalies.At least 11 of these landfills requested and received permission from either federal or local environmental regulators to continue operating with higher temperatures than currently allowed, according to public records obtained by the environmental organization.These regulatory exemptions are part of the problem, said Jane Williams, the group’s executive director.“We have 11 landfills across California that have been granted waivers by the government to basically ‘hot rod’ the landfill,” Williams said. “We would really like EPA and state agencies to stop granting landfill waivers. It’s a permission slip to speed in a school zone.”Under newly proposed revisions to state rules, operators must be more transparent in disclosing the temperatures in their gas collection systems. If operators detect elevated temperatures, they must take action to minimize the amount of oxygen in the landfill.While these rule changes might be coming too late to fix the issues near Chiquita Canyon, locals hope it will help others who live in the orbit of the nearly 200 other large landfills in California that could be subject to these rules.“While there’s still a fight here to try to address the concerns at Chiquita Canyon Landfill, we know that there’s an opportunity to really prevent this kind of disaster from happening anywhere else in our state,” said Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo.Dangerous leaksMeanwhile, many other landfills are releasing unsafe amounts of methane, an odorless gas produced by bacteria that break down organic waste.These emissions present two critical issues.First, methane is a powerful greenhouse gas — capable of warming the atmosphere 80 times more than the same amount of carbon dioxide over 20 years. Following California’s large dairy and livestock operations, landfills emit the second-most methane statewide.Second, methane is the primary constituent in natural gas. It can ignite or explode at certain concentrations, presenting a serious safety risk in the event of uncontrolled releases. Several times over the last few years, regulators have detected potentially explosive concentrations in the air and shallow soil near several landfills.Under current landfill regulations, operators are required to monitor for excessive methane leaks four times a year. Many operators hire contractors to walk across accessible portions of the landfill with a handheld leak-monitoring device, an approach that some environmental advocates say is unreliable.In addition, some areas of the landfill are not screened for methane leaks if operators consider them to be unsafe to walk across, due to, for example, steep hills or ongoing construction activities.“Landfills have to monitor surface emissions, but they do that in a very inefficient way, using outdated technology,” Magavern said.Starting this past summer, California has partnered with the nonprofit organization Carbon Mapper to use satellites to detect methane leaks, and already has found 17 coming from landfills. In one case, researchers saw a large methane plume appear to emanate from Newby Island Landfill in San José and drift into a nearby residential neighborhood.Although the state has notified these landfill operators, it currently cannot require them to repair leaks detected via satellite. That would change under the proposed amendments to the state’s landfill regulations. Operators would also have to use state-approved technology to routinely scan portions of their landfills they deem inaccessible.The proposed amendments seek to prevent the most common causes of methane emissions. A series of surveys of landfill operators found 43% of leaks in recent years were caused by one or more of a facility’s gas collection wells being offline at the time.The new rules would require that such wells can only be offline for up to five days at a time for repairs. Operators would also be required to install gas collection systems within six months of when garbage is first placed in a new part of a landfill — rather than the 18-month time frame currently allowed.In addition, landfills would be forced to take actions to fix a leak within three days of detection, rather than 10 days. In theory, that should help reduce the risk of leaks from things like cracks in landfill covers (typically a layer of soil or plastic covering) and damaged components of gas collection systems — two other major sources of leaks that landfill operators have reported.The amended landfill rules could collectively cost private companies and local governments $12 million annually.Some say that’s well worth the cost.A contingent of residents who live near Chiquita Canyon Landfill are flying to Sacramento to attend the state Air Resources Board meeting. They are expected to testify on how the fire and landfill emissions have unraveled the fabric of the semi-rural community.Elkins, the Val Verde resident, appreciated the area’s natural beauty — picturesque hillsides, wildlife and opportunities for stargazing without bright city lights. However, now her family hardly spends any time outdoors due to the noxious odors.Some of her neighbors have moved away, but Elkins and many other longtime locals cannot, no matter how they fear for their health and safety. “The homes are not selling,” she said. “Other homes sit vacant, and community members are paying two mortgages just to get away. And for many of us, it would be financial suicide to move away and start over somewhere new.”

Chemicals
Climate
CO2

New Texas petrochemical facilities are mostly in low income areas, communities of color, study finds

Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the EPA.

Environment Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the EPA. David J. Phillip/APThis aerial photo shows the TPC petrochemical plant near downtown Houston, background, on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)A recent report from Texas Southern University found that new and expanding petrochemical facilities in Texas are overwhelmingly located in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Researchers evaluated the neighborhoods around 89 proposed or expanding petrochemical facilities across the state using a screening tool from the Environmental Protection Agency. They looked at air pollution and proximity to other "hazardous facilities" in the areas. Data related to the race, education, income level and languages within the areas was also collected. Sign up for the Hello, Houston! daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox. "The communities that are on the fenceline are getting pollution and they also are getting poverty," said Robert Bullard, one of the study's authors. "And also, if you look at the infrastructures within those neighborhoods that have these facilities, they are of poor quality." The report found that 9 in 10 of the facilities are located in counties with "higher demographic vulnerability" – meaning they had more people of color, more low-income residents, or both, compared to the state and national averages. Over half of the new facilities were slated to be built in communities that have a higher proportion of people of color than the national average. Meanwhile, 30% of the facilities were slated to be built in areas with a poverty rate higher than the national average. "Segregation and racial redlining actually segregated pollution, and it segregated people," Bullard said. The analysis also found that the proposed facilities were being built in areas that are already struggling with air pollution. About 1 in 5 of the proposed facilities are located within the top 10% of areas nationwide with the highest amount of particulate matter pollution, and 46% of the new facilities are slated to be built within the top 10% of communities across the country with the highest amount of air toxins. The facilities were concentrated in 9% of Texas counties, with nearly half of them located in Harris County or Jefferson County.

Chemicals
Education
Pollution

Georgia moves to regulate ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS in drinking water

Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division has proposed new drinking water rules that would strictly limit two PFAS “forever chemicals,” PFOA and PFOS, by 2027, mirroring narrowed federal standards while leaving communities and utilities to grapple with the high cost of filtration.

Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division has proposed new drinking water rules that would strictly limit two PFAS “forever chemicals,” PFOA and PFOS, by 2027, mirroring narrowed federal standards while leaving communities and utilities to grapple with the high cost of filtration.

Chemicals
Water

Suggested Viewing

928 The Threat Continues...

Since the 1950s deadly nuclear fallout has threatened millions of Americans from nuclear fallout carried east in the atmosphere across the United States, from the Nevada Test Site. “928 The Threat Continues...” tells the story of massive contamination from concentrated nuclear fallout that rained down during heavy storms, on communities and major cities for 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of cancer cases and deaths were the result. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy knew the truth, but covered it up. Multiple generations may still face the long-term affects. Through current interviews with scientific experts and surviving victims across the country, plus footage from historic interviews with victims, whistle-blower scientists and journalists, we tell the devastating story of those affected by the deadly radioactive fallout. In Act 3, obscure government videos from US government websites reveal that the threat of cancer death to Americans from Nevada Test Site contamination continues even today! NTS has been renamed, the Nevada National Security Site or NNSS. Presidential administrations from Harry Truman to the present day have kept the highly contaminated former Nevada Test Site operating. Donald Trump while in office ordered the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to start testing newly designed battlefield nuclear weapons at the NNSS despite the existence of The Non-Proliferation Treaty – 1970. Not withstanding the treaty, the extremely reckless aboveground testing area at the NNSS called Big Explosives Experimental Facility or B.E.E.F. tests non-nuclear bombs that send tons of highly contaminated nuclear dirt 10,000 feet into the atmosphere where the winds carry it east. It needs to be stopped now! The film asks viewers to inform their congressman and vote.

Chemicals
Crisis
Government

Lead in the Land

Lead in the Land is a documentary focusing on the harsh reality and far-reaching effects of lead poisoning, an invisible and insidious threat afflicting thousands of children in the United States. The film sheds light on the circumstances around lead poisoning, examining its causes, effects and potential solutions.

Chemicals
Social Justice
Health

We Trees

Ever wonder what trees think of us now that we have created a climate disaster? This 2-minute film answers that question. As Bill McKibben recently tweeted about the film, “Who speaks for trees? In this short and elegant video, the trees themselves.” It has been screened at Green Fest (Serbia), The Colorado Environmental Film Festival, The Wildlife Conservation Film Festival and Winner of Merit at the Nature Without Borders Film Festival.

Forests
Chemicals
Climate

Unacceptable Risk: Dr. Margaret Kripke on Cancer and the Environment

Unacceptable Risk tells the story of a prominent cancer researcher who rethinks her assumptions about the causes of cancer and the true burden of environmentally-induced cancers.

Chemicals
Science
Health

Toxic Business

A documentary on the profits international chemical companies are gaining in Africa at cost of the health of small-scaled-farmers and consumers.International chemical companies sell high toxic agro-chemicals in Kenya, which are banned since long in Europe. They are banned because their ingredients cause cancer and have a major negative impact on the nature and environment. Anyhow – in developing countries like Kenya those toxic chemicals are sold without any regulations through small agro-shops all over the country. The small scaled farmers do believe in the promises of better and safer harvest those companies give. Today, the use of pesticides even inside the villages is already a daily business. Furthermore many of them already depend on hybrid seeds, old and resistant seeds supplants. Most of the consumers do not have the knowledge, how dangerous those agro-chemicals are: the WHO announced that annually 346.000 people die, caused by accidentally poisoning with those chemicals, 2/3 of them within developing countries.In the face of world food, industry is trying to push its way into the markets. On the contrary, statistics and alternative farming methods in East Africa show that it no longer needs chemicals and hybrid seeds to feed the world, but a general rethinking.

Agriculture
Chemicals
Business

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