WILMINGTON — The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners approved an economic development incentive with National Gypsum Company Monday night, despite efforts from residents to dissuade commissioners from doing so.
The incentive comes in the form of $70,000 annually, for five years, and will not exceed $350,000. In return, National Gypsum has agreed to bring more than 50 jobs to Wilmington, and a minimum $25 million investment in the county.
The National Gypsum Company has been considering reopening its plant in Wilmington that manufactures three gypsum products.
In March, commissioners agreed to hold a second public hearing to discuss potential environmental concerns, members from the New Hanover County Health Department, National Gypsum, and the Department of Environmental Quality attended Monday’s meeting.
Read more: Jobs, tax revenue and formaldehyde: an update on National Gypsum
CEO of Wilmington Business Development Scott Satterfield said, “National Gypsum Company is not unfamiliar to us. In 1979 they opened a facility here in Wilmington and operated for 30 years with a great record producing a great product that we all use every day. They closed in 2008 with the downfall of our national economy … we stayed in touch with National Gypsum and the good news is when they decided to open up another facility – ours is under consideration.”
Formaldehyde in the air?
The biggest concern voiced by residents was the amount of formaldehyde the company releases into the environment. The amount of formaldehyde produced by the company was in question at the last commission meeting. During the County Commissioners meeting in March, the commissioners voted to hold a public hearing with the requirement National Gypsum update the 2008 stack testing.
Vice President of Business Development for National Gypsum John King offered attendees and commissioners a breakdown of where the formaldehyde is coming from, and how much the factory would produce.
National Gypsum makes three different types of drywall, both residential and interior use drywall along with an exterior drywall. The exterior drywall accounts for 3 percent of the products produced by National Gypsum, and the manufacturing of the product is the source of formaldehyde from the company, King said.
“We do not manufacture formaldehyde, we do not bring in formaldehyde. It comes as a byproduct of the manufacturing process when we make our exterior product … The formaldehyde is actually in the facer of the product,” he said.
When the company goes through the process of drying the exterior drywall, trace amounts of formaldehyde are released. But formaldehyde is a naturally occurring product and in outdoor air can be measured at less than 8 parts per billion. The average exposure in a home ranges from 5-250 parts per billion.
“The levels that we are talking about at our fence line, so if you walked up to the edge of our property are 3.1 parts per billion. At that level the amount of formaldehyde that we emit is below what you would find in typical outside air,” King said.
Members from the New Hanover County Health Department, as well as the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Air Quality all concurred that the amount of formaldehyde produced was appropriate and posed no health risks.
Wilmington City Council will vote on its proposed incentives Tuesday night.
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