Does the Port Townsend Paper Mill produce ACID Rain? Is this allowed by LAW, being so close the Olympic Peninsula Rainforest, the only protected temperate rain forests in the Northern Hemisphere, the Hoh Rain Forest?

""Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

Properties
Causes respiratory illnesses and lung disease and is a significant component of smog.

Sources
A component of NOX (a smog-forming chemical). Results from burning fuels in utilities, industrial boilers, automobiles, and trucks.

Effects
Major pollutant that causes smog, acid rain, and contributes to PM2.5. Can harm humans and vegetation when concentrations are sufficiently high. May cause lung damage and illnesses of breathing passages and lungs.

Description

Nitrogen oxides (NOX) are a blend of multiple air pollutants that result from various combustion processes. The "x"; in NOX stands for one or more oxygen atoms connected to the nitrogen atom. NOXtypically occurs as nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which are very commonly emitted in our everyday lives.

Sources include power plants, gasoline and diesel engines (cars, trucks, generators, lawnmowers and yard equipment, snowmobiles, power boats, etc), home furnaces (gas, oil, and wood), industrial processes, explosives, and fertilizers. NOX contributes to several air pollution problems.

One component of NOX that is considered a direct health risk is NO2, which is the actual NOX related pollutant with an assigned National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). It can cause respiratory illness and lung damage. High levels can cause edema, and prolonged high exposure can produce fatal lung damage.

NOX is a primary component to ozone (or smog) formation. Ozone forms when NOX and certain volatile organic compounds chemically react in the presence of strong sunlight (ultraviolet wavelengths). An oxygen atom is moved from NO2 to oxygen in the air, creating ozone (O3) – another criteria pollutant. Reducing emissions of NOXis critical to reducing ozone.

NOX is also a major contributor to acid rain (or acid deposition). After NOX is released by a source, it travels and chemically reacts in the atmosphere, eventually becoming ammonium nitrate or nitric acid.

Ammonium nitrate is a small particle (PM2.5, which is considered to be another criteria pollutant with its own NAAQS), and it also is a visibility-impairing pollutant.

Nitric acid is removed from the air through precipitation (rain, snow, etc.), settling of particles, and by condensation from the air onto surfaces, similar to the formation of dew.

Acid deposition damages our forests, lakes, and wetlands by robbing them of necessary nutrients and lowering the pH levels, often to levels below what native species can tolerate.

The end result of this process is not a void of wildlife, but rather a shifting of species, where a more tolerant species simply populates an area where native species once were dominant. Nitric acid accounts for about one-third of the acidity in precipitation in New Hampshire.

Another effect of NOX is the nitrification of lakes, ponds, estuaries, and other wetlands. Nitrogen acts as a fertilizer for plants, and when it is added to water, algae and other aquatic plants may multiply excessively, displacing other inhabitants of the wetland.

While NOX emission controls have been added to power plants and automobiles (catalytic converters), growth in energy demand and the amount of vehicle-miles-traveled have offset some of the benefits of the control measures. In New Hampshire, measuredNO2 levels have remained relatively stable over the last 20 years, and have shown a slight overall decline. New Hampshire is in attainment of the NO2 NAAQS on a state-wide basis."

Source of Above
http://des.nh.gov/organization/divisions/air/do/asab/apoc/criteria_pollutants.htm


Does the Port Townsend Paper Mill produce ACID Rain? Is this allowed by LAW, being so close the Olympic Peninsula Rainforest,  the only protected temperate rain forests in the Northern Hemisphere, the Hoh Rain Forest.

Would the Jefferson County Health authorities, the Department of Ecology, the Forest Service, the EPA, and other governing bodies have you believe that Port Townsend Washington spewing a 1000 lbs of ammonia in the air a day, is not creating acid rain that affects the plants, animal, soil, farms, organic classification and the delicate balance of the  Hoh Rain Forest?

Really? How can that be True.

I say its politics, lies, cover ups and Greed, but hey that's just my Opinion. Formed because I can READ. Sure seems like those government agencies know what is going on here. I mean come on the quilcene river is the responsiblity of the Olympic National Forest right? How can it be allowed to be filled with toxins and put into the bay, is the Olympic National Forest authorities not obligated to monitor this? If NOT then WHY ?

Environmental Law and Paper Pollution

"Paper pollution refers to environmental pollution caused by the production, use and recycling of paper.

Paper pollution causes severe adverse effects to the quality of air, water and land.  Discarded paper is a major component of many landfill sites.

Paper recycling is also a source of pollution due to the sludge produced during deinking.

The amount of paper and paper products used is so enormous that the environmental impact of the pollution caused by it is also very significant.

Therefore, great efforts are required to ensure that the environment is protected during the production, use and recycling/disposal of this enormous volume of material.

Pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter to air, water, and land in the United States, and studies show that it releases well over 100 million kg of toxic pollution each year.

The main components of pulp mill related pollution are chlorine and chlorine based materials, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide.

Chlorine and compounds of chlorine are used in the bleaching of wood pulp, especially chemical pulps produced by the kraft process or sulfite process.   Plants using elemental chlorine produced significant quantities of dioxins that are persistent organic pollutants that are one of the most toxic human-released pollutants.

The used process water from a pulp mill contains a lot of organic material such as lignin and other organic material from the trees, including chlorinated organic material.  The presence of these organic substances results in high biological oxygen demand (BOD) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC).

Sulfur-based compounds are used in kraft process as well as sulfite process for making wood pulp. The release of sulfur dioxide is of particular concern because it is water soluble and is a major cause of acid rain.

Air emissions of hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, and other volatile sulfur compounds are the cause of the odor characteristic of pulp mills utilizing the kraft process.

Other chemicals that are released into the air and water from most paper mills include carbon monoxide, ammonia, nitrogen oxide, mercury, nitrates, methanol, benzene, volatile organic compounds and chloroform.

Nitrogen dioxide(NO) sulfur dioxide (SO) and carbon dioxide (CO) are emitted during paper manufacturing. 

All of them cause acid rain and CO is a major greenhouse gas that causes climate change. These toxic gases contribute to air pollution.

Waste water discharged for a pulp and paper mills contain solids, nutrients and dissolved organic matter which when present in high levels pollute water.

Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can cause or aggravate eutrophication of fresh water bodies such as lakes and rivers.

Organic matter dissolved in fresh water changes ecological characteristics and may lead to death of all higher living organisms. Waste water may also be polluted with organochlorine compounds. Some of these are naturally occurring in the wood, but chlorine bleaching of the pulp produces far larger amounts of toxins to be released.

Delignification of chemical pulps releases considerable amounts of organic material into the environment, particularly into waterbodies.  Deinking recycled paper pulp produces waste slurry which may go to landfill."

Source
http://environmentallaw.uslegal.com/specific-issues/paper/