US Nitrogen Has Boiler Leak

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

US Nitrogen LLC has informed Tennessee environmental officials that because of an apparent boiler leak, the company plans to temporarily use two rented boilers at its Midway manufacturing facility.
In a letter Wednesday to TDEC's Michelle Owenby, US Nitrogen's plant manager Dylan Charles wrote that the leak was only recently discovered and arrangements were just made to rent the boilers.
Stating that depending on the location of the leak the damage could be costly and extensive, Charles said the leak was believed to be in tubing within the boiler.
The US Nitrogen official acknowledged that the state was not given the usual notice for such a request.
Disclosure of the leak comes just days after the ammonium nitrate manufacturer disclosed that water usage at the plant jumped by some 27 per cent in August.
That data was in a monthly report US Nitrogen filed with the state showing the amount of water it pumped from the Nolichuckly River for use in its Greene County plant.
US Nitrogen also submitted extensive data on the temporary boilers to show that they would not increase emissions.
The emissions, Charles concluded, would be insignificant.
He told Owenby the company assumed the pumps would be in operation for just two weeks.
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