SOUTHEASTERN NC—After two years of studying new regulations over the release of the neurotoxin methyl bromide, the Department of Environmental Quality has introduced new emissions limits.
Used to fumigate logs to meet foreign export requirements, methyl bromide was barely regulated previously. The only prior emissions limit subjected permitted operations to cap releases at 10 tons annually.
Now, fumigators can only release the neurotoxin at an annual ambient air limit of .005 milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m3) and a chronic limit of 1 mg/m3 over a 24-hour period. These new rules mitigate the practice of fumigators conducting their yearly activity all at once or over a short time-frame, introducing dangerous quantities of the chemical with no notice to the public.
Heavier than air, methyl bromide can linger outside of property boundaries. It is known to cause neurological and respiratory damage and depletes the ozone.
Residents in southwestern New Hanover County, particularly surrounding the Port of Wilmington, have been disproportionately subject to methyl bromide emissions in recent years.
Of the five permitted methyl bromide facilities in the state, two are located in New Hanover County. As of 2017, the county had three, but one location since rescinded its permit. In November 2019, the DEQ gave Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point permission to fumigate on its property; the terminal fumigated all of its needs (about 0.75 tons) during a 10-day period in December 2019. A MOTSU spokesperson said it did not intend to fumigate in the future.
A Division of Air Quality report last year estimated more than 125,000 people in New Hanover County had already been overexposed either acutely or chronically to methyl bromide.
“This is the first time in over 28 years that we have added a toxic air pollutant to our state air toxics rules,” Mike Abraczinskas, DAQ Director, said in a press release. “This is a significant and unique event that continues our mission to improve air quality.”
Permitted fumigators must begin complying with the rule by Dec. 30.
The DEQ is requiring the facilities to submit permit modification applications to abide by the new rules, including new control measures, monitoring protocols, and record-keeping procedures.
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