By Andrew Coen
Eon Labs Inc., which has operated from 227-15 North Conduit Ave. in Laurelton, Queens since 1962, is a little more than a mile from the North-Woodmere-Valley Stream border. The company has applied for a permit from the State Department of Environmental Conservation, seeking permission to expand its emissions into the air, which some residents fear might be toxic. The company is seeking to raise the facility's airborne emissions limit on volatile organic compounds by 40 percent, from 49,800 to 70,000 pounds a year.
The specific compounds being emitted from the Laurelton plant are volatile organic chemicals that include isopropyl and ethyl alcohol, which are considered by the DEC to be non-hazardous, according to William Eversgerd, vice president of plant facilities for Eon Labs. However, if the company were to expand its hydrochloric acid emissions, it could have a negative impact on the environment, possibly causing blindness and burns and erosion to the skin and lung damage, according to a chemical fact sheet handed out at a Feb. 26 meeting of the Concerned Citizens of Laurelton.
"Absolutely, it's a concern," said Carol Pines, a North Woodmere resident who attended the meeting, which drew around 300 local residents to discuss the plant's application.
Eon Labs is based out of nearby Lake Success on the north shore and is a maker of generic drugs. According to Eversgerd, the company wants to lift its air emissions cap at the Laurelton site from 25 tons to 35 tons per year, since the company is hoping to increase sales of a pain management drug once made by a competitor.
Pines said she found out about the meeting after seeing posters at the Rosedale train station. She said that many probably did not know about the meeting. "It would be very helpful to make [residents] aware of what is going on in their backyard," she said.
Another community leader was also unaware of the proposal. "I'm very concerned about this, but not knowing anything about it, I plan to contact the Concerned Citizens of Laurelton to see how we can work together to find a mutual solution," said Marc Tenzer, president of the Millbrook Civic Association, which represents part of the South Valley Stream community.
According to the Environmental Task Force of the Concerned Citizens of Laurelton, EON Labs applied for the permit in June 2004, but Laurelton residents were not notified about the permit request until two months ago. In response to the application, the civic group has hired a chemical engineering firm that deals exclusively with air emissions, to review the application. Some local civic activists also feel the plant is already exceeding its state permitted limit of toxic emissions.
The company has acknowledged that it has exceeded its current organic emissions limit by about one percent for more than a year after a competitor stopped making orphenadrine citrate. Two years ago, Eon Labs opened up a large market for the product, according to Eversgerd. He said Eon immediately notified the DEC upon discovering it went over the emissions' limit and the state agency suggested that it apply for a Title V permit, which allows for higher emissions but also entails stricter controls and more regulations. The company has tripled production of the drug, according to Eversgerd.
According to DEC spokeswoman Gabrielle Done, when Eon's application is complete, it will be available for public review and comment for 30 days. The DEC will then review the public's comments and ask Eon to modify the permit, if necessary. "This [permit process] goes through many checks and balances to assure the health and safety of the public," said Done.
The application will also be sent to the Environmental Protection Agency for 45 days of review and if approved by the EPA, the DEC will then review the application again and make a final decision. If the permit were not approved, Eon would have to reduce emissions, to bring it back under the limits of the current permit.
Eon's application has drawn the attention of local elected officials from North Woodmere and Valley Stream, who said they plan to study the issue further. "We're going to continue to study this potential safety and health issue and certainly oppose Eon's application to the extent that it adversely affects the health of Nassau County residents," said Nassau County Legis. Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside).
"While [the plant] is in Laurelton and I don't have any jurisdiction over the application as a town supervisor, I'm certainly very concerned for the North Woodmere, Woodmere and Valley Stream residents who would be affected by [the increased emissions]," said Kate Murray, Hempstead Town Supervisor. "What happens right across the border affects our residents as well."
According to Eversgerd, Eon currently uses very little hydrochloric acid and if the plant were to expand its toxic chemicals, it would be minimal and not have any impact on the area since the company plans to purchase a scrubber machine, which will help reduce the emissions by 98 percent. Eon currently uses far less than the 10 tons of hazardous materials allowed by the state, Eversgerd said, and that would not change if the permit were approved. "We are well within regulation on that," said Eversgerd.
Despite the company's plans to only expand its organic chemicals, City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens) said the permit worries him and many of his constituents because of possible future expansion of hazardous materials. "It may be innocent, but it may give them the opportunity to do other things where they don't have to come before us," said Sanders. "It may be a Trojan horse."
Sanders said he is also concerned about the expansion of the organic chemicals, despite assurances they are not toxic, and he is having some environmentalists study the emissions further to make sure they are not harmful.
Another concern for residents, according to Sanders, is a recent announcement that Eon is being bought out by the pharmaceutical giant Novartis. "They might decide to do what other major international firms do and make as big a profit as they can at the harm of the local residents," said the councilman.
Eversgerd also said that the company hopes to eventually transfer its pain management drug product to Wilson, N.C., where the company hopes to create a firm, which would be able to handle 250 tons of emissions compared to 25 in New York.
Supervisor Murray said she plans on drafting letters to the DEC and EPA to find out more about Eon's application.
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