For more than two years, communities in Columbia, MD have been fighting against W.R. Grace & Co chemical company’s pyrolysis plastic incineration facility. At every step, residents have pushed against this dangerous facility, yet Grace continues to imperil communities in Columbia with their so-called “chemical recycling” research.
The next stage of this fight was triggered at the end of June this year when WR Grace applied for a State Permit to Operate (SPTO) amendment in order to permanently continue operating their facility. Troublingly, MDE has allowed Grace to pursue this permit as an “extension” of existing air permits Grace already holds instead of as a stand alone permit application. This means that MDE is not required to provide, and therefore is not providing, either a public hearing or an official open comment period. MDE seems content to rubber stamp Grace’s permit, but the community is not letting that stand without a fight and they need our help!
Take action: send a message to MDE!
Talking points
It’s More Powerful When You Use Your Own Words As Much As Possible ~ Thank You!
Health Risk of Pyrolysis:
- Pyrolysis facilities emit toxic substances such as lead, cadmium, chromium, and volatile organic compounds which are associated with numerous severe illnesses and health impacts including cancer birth defects & reproductive damage, developmental issues, cardiovascular problems, respiratory impairment, hormonal irregularities and neurological problems;
- Part of what makes so-called “chemical recycling” technologies so dangerous is that the content of the emissions are highly variable based on the plastic put into the system (the feedstock), the catalyst used, and even the temperature of the process. This makes controlling and measuring contaminants incredibly difficult;
- W.R. Grace has not been sufficiently transparent in their application or processes to allow for a full accounting of possible emissions. Specifically the catalyst or catalysts they plan to use for their pyrolysis remain a secret, and they also plan to change exact make up of the plastic they intend to incinerate as a part of their work;
- The lack of transparency in Grace’s documentation and planned changes to their process have the potential to result in unpredictable toxic emissions and uncontrolled harm to the health of surrounding communities.
Waste:
- “Chemical Recycling” facilities produce vast amounts of hazardous waste. Data from the Environmental Protection Agency shows that between 2021 and 2024, three active “chemical recycling” facilities produced more than 2 million pounds of hazardous waste.
- Waste from these facilities is transported through communities in trucks and on trains endangering communities across the country;
- This W.R. Grace facility is operating at a smaller scale, but would still produce hazardous waste which would then itself be transported on roads throughout Columbia, into other parts of Maryland, and possibly even into other states in the region. This directly endangers residents in numerous communities and the environment across the Chesapeake.
Physical Hazards:
- Pyrolysis facilities are prone to fires which carry unmitigated toxins into any communities nearby, in this case that could endanger thousands of Maryland residents;
- Leaks of the hazardous pyrolysis oil byproduct are another major risk at pyrolysis facilities endangering land and water in surrounding communities;
- This W.R. Grace facility is located within 200 meters of homes making the direct physical risk from fire, explosions and leaks directly salient to any consideration of approval of this facility. There is no protective buffer to keep communities safe from these impacts.
Negative Economic Impacts:
- W.R. Grace’s pyrolysis facility is not free of direct cost to the communities surrounding it. It exists as a direct unfunded mandate to municipal services like fire and EMS response systems. If an accident were to happen it would be those responders directly endangering themselves with insufficient information and limited resources to protect residents and workers alike. This has the potential of being costly in more ways than just monetary;
- W.R. Grace has a history of endangering its works, and the communities surrounding its facilities. That history is both a stark warning against blind trust and a relevant concern that has the potential to harm property value and community reputation as the company expands its operations in direct opposition to the wishes of Howard County residents.
New Information Subsequent to Approval (in June 2025) of the MDE Permit to Construct & Operate This Facility:
- Important new data has since emerged regarding potential emission hazards that were overlooked in the original assessment; discussions with scientific experts have made clear that the permit protocol neglected to identify and test numerous critical, harmful emissions;
- The current stack testing protocol did not indicate what plastic feedstock was used. As the emissions vary depending on the type of feedstock and its composition, we request that the stack tests must be conducted reflecting the specific type of feedstock - as well as the catalyst used to produce the feedstock - that WR Grace will be using. This testing feedstock information should be shared transparently with the public.
Issues with the Regulatory Process:
- Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods are already smelling and reporting plastic burning smells to MDE;
- The W.R. Grace campus is producing consistent, loud noise at all times of the day and at night, constituting an ongoing nuisance and a health impact to the residents of Cedar Creek (the community adjacent to the WR Grace campus);
- The public is concerned about regulatory omissions regarding this technology in the state of Maryland as other pyrolysis facilities across the country are shutting down. Two facilities closed in the last four months, specifically the Braven Environmental plant in Zebulon, North Carolina and the Freepoint Eco-Systems plant, in Hebron, Ohio, but not before racking up permit violations (Freepoint) and violations of federal and state hazardous waste laws (Braven).