Saturday’s planned implosions at the site of the closed Homer City Generating Station have raised questions – and sparked fears – about the environmental impact of bringing down the imposing smokestacks and towers. The state Department of Environmental Protection has responded to Renda Media’s inquiries about the event, which will include the demolition of the tallest smokestack in America (which is also the third-highest in the world, at 1,217 feet).
DEP says the implosion will release particulate matter emissions including coal dust, fly rock, fly ash, and silica dust. All of those are pollutants that can cause a variety of lung diseases, including cancer, COPD, and in the case of silica dust, silicosis. They should not be breathed in.
DEP says its blasting permit does not require an environmental impact assessment. The general contractor, Frontier, will conduct pre-and-post-demolition surveys of neighboring properties and is required to promptly repair any damage. It must also clean any neighboring properties adversely impacted by the demolition.
An asbestos survey was conducted in the planning stages and none was found in the stacks or cooling towers. DEP will have a member of its air quality staff on site to monitor the implosion.
In addition to its exclusion zone around the plant and the temporary closures of Coal Road and Power Plant Road, the area will be guarded at strategic locations to prevent intruders, and seismic and air overpressure monitoring will be conducted at four homes around the plant to ensure compliance with the state’s vibration regulations.
While DEP will not play an active role in the cleanup from the implosion, the debris will be disposed of at the on-site DEP-permitted residual waste landfill, which has a double synthetic liner system and leachate collection capability, with an extensive groundwater monitoring system to verify containment.
