Plymouth Tube Company produces cold drawn steel tubing for industries across the world. As a result of their production, they create and release large amounts of trichloroethene (TCE), as well as trace amounts of nickel and chromium into the environment, creating not only environmental issues, but issues that pertain to environmental justice.
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site background
Plymouth Tube Co. was initially founded in 1924 and specializes in the manufacturing and distribution of cold drawn, small diameter, metal tubing, and specialty wire. They are a privately traded company and currently have seven mills in the United States, scattered throughout different states and one mill located in Schwerte, Germany. Each mill specializes in certain types of specialty tubing, giving Plymouth a wide variety of products to be sold to different industries. Plymouth even states that their products are sold to every major industry within the United States (C.M. Foster, Jr. Manager of Corporate Development, 1981). Plymouth’s Salisbury plant specializes in the creation and distribution of stainless-steel tubing that is used for nuclear, aerospace, and instrumentation applications (Plymouth Tube, 2022).
In 1981, Plymouth Tube Co. requested a loan from Equitable Trust Bank with the hopes of opening a mill in Salisbury, Maryland. That year, they were granted the loan and opened the mill. In a letter that was sent from Plymouth to Equitable Trust, Plymouth detailed who they are, what they hope to do with their new Salisbury site, personnel for the new site, and even stated “The plant will be designed, constructed, and operated so as to comply with local, state, and federal environmental regulations," (C.M. Foster, Jr. Manager of Corporate Development, 1981). Since the construction of the plant, Plymouth has received many violations, fines, and notices from the EPA and MDE about their toxic release into the environment, specifically from air pollution. They have also received four fines from OSHA since 2004, due to workplace health and safety violations, equaling to thousands of dollars.
The ones who are most responsible for this issue are Plymouth themselves, CEOs, and managers of the plant. Drew Van Pelt is the current president and CEO of Plymouth and is the fifth generation of Van Pelt family members to take over and control Plymouth Tube since its start in 1924. Although Plymouth and their CEOs have stated and claimed to follow environmental guidelines and regulations, they have received many violations and fines pertaining to worker health and safety, and fines for environmental pollution. Most recently, Plymouth has received a $29,000 fine from the EPA for a high priority violation of the Clean Air Act and has also been marked as a significant non-complier under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, but not assessing them a fine.
The people who are most effected by Plymouth’s polluting are those that live near the site, in apartments, neighborhoods, and standalone houses. Within a one mile radius of Plymouth, the population is approximately 3,068 people, with 2,405 being people of color (78%). African Americans are the largest population group in the radius, making up 74% of the population (EPA, 2022). The North Prong Wicomico River is directly behind the Plymouth site, having no buffer between except for little grass and trees, giving TCE, chromium, and nickel a way to travel and move around, contaminating and infecting more soil and life. Directly on the other side of the North Prong Wicomico River is the neighborhood of Jersey Heights. Jersey Heights, which has always been a predominantly African American neighborhood, is less than half of a mile away from Plymouth and Salisbury’s Northwood Industrial Park. This leaves little to no buffer in between the toxic site and many homes, creating more injustices that the people of Jersey Heights have to live with.
In 1981, Plymouth Tube Co. requested a loan from Equitable Trust Bank with the hopes of opening a mill in Salisbury, Maryland. That year, they were granted the loan and opened the mill. In a letter that was sent from Plymouth to Equitable Trust, Plymouth detailed who they are, what they hope to do with their new Salisbury site, personnel for the new site, and even stated “The plant will be designed, constructed, and operated so as to comply with local, state, and federal environmental regulations," (C.M. Foster, Jr. Manager of Corporate Development, 1981). Since the construction of the plant, Plymouth has received many violations, fines, and notices from the EPA and MDE about their toxic release into the environment, specifically from air pollution. They have also received four fines from OSHA since 2004, due to workplace health and safety violations, equaling to thousands of dollars.
The ones who are most responsible for this issue are Plymouth themselves, CEOs, and managers of the plant. Drew Van Pelt is the current president and CEO of Plymouth and is the fifth generation of Van Pelt family members to take over and control Plymouth Tube since its start in 1924. Although Plymouth and their CEOs have stated and claimed to follow environmental guidelines and regulations, they have received many violations and fines pertaining to worker health and safety, and fines for environmental pollution. Most recently, Plymouth has received a $29,000 fine from the EPA for a high priority violation of the Clean Air Act and has also been marked as a significant non-complier under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, but not assessing them a fine.
The people who are most effected by Plymouth’s polluting are those that live near the site, in apartments, neighborhoods, and standalone houses. Within a one mile radius of Plymouth, the population is approximately 3,068 people, with 2,405 being people of color (78%). African Americans are the largest population group in the radius, making up 74% of the population (EPA, 2022). The North Prong Wicomico River is directly behind the Plymouth site, having no buffer between except for little grass and trees, giving TCE, chromium, and nickel a way to travel and move around, contaminating and infecting more soil and life. Directly on the other side of the North Prong Wicomico River is the neighborhood of Jersey Heights. Jersey Heights, which has always been a predominantly African American neighborhood, is less than half of a mile away from Plymouth and Salisbury’s Northwood Industrial Park. This leaves little to no buffer in between the toxic site and many homes, creating more injustices that the people of Jersey Heights have to live with.
what is happening now?
Since 2011, Plymouth Tube has released, through air pollution, at least 40,000 pounds of Trichloroethylene (TCE) each year, once reaching over 97,000 pounds in 2012 alone. The only year in the recent decade to not reach over 40,000 pounds of TCE emissions was 2020, which was a slow year for many businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These toxins are created through a process that Plymouth uses to finish their pipes.
The process starts by placing long metal tubes into a furnace to anneal them (annealing is the process of placing glass or metal in extreme heat, then letting it cool, further allowing it to strengthen and purify imperfections). The next step is to place the tubes through a series of chemical baths with the purpose of applying a dry lubricant coating. Next is to shape the edges of the tube so that they can be connected to others for their use. Finally, the last step in making their tubes is to anneal them again. During the second anneal, the tubes are already coated in different chemicals from the chemical bath they received, including TCE. When TCE is burned in extreme heat, it becomes aerosolized and thus an air pollutant.
The process starts by placing long metal tubes into a furnace to anneal them (annealing is the process of placing glass or metal in extreme heat, then letting it cool, further allowing it to strengthen and purify imperfections). The next step is to place the tubes through a series of chemical baths with the purpose of applying a dry lubricant coating. Next is to shape the edges of the tube so that they can be connected to others for their use. Finally, the last step in making their tubes is to anneal them again. During the second anneal, the tubes are already coated in different chemicals from the chemical bath they received, including TCE. When TCE is burned in extreme heat, it becomes aerosolized and thus an air pollutant.
environmental impacts
Plymouth Tube's impacts on the environment are influential on the nearby ecosystem and nearby areas. A business' RSEI score, which according to the EPA is, "Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) is a screening-level model that analyzes factors that contribute to human health risk. These factors, including the amount of chemical released, the degree of toxicity, and the size of the exposed population" (EPA, 2022), are important in determining how dangerous a certain entity's toxic release can be to the nearby community. Plymouth's RSEI score for 2019 was 56,321, while the median for corporations within the same industry is only 32 (EPA, 2019). This scoring clearly shows how careless, dangerous, and toxic Plymouth is to the nearby environment and population.
The effects TCE has on the environment can be deadly for nearby plants and wildlife. After one week of being released into the atmosphere, TCE breaks down into the chemicals phosgene, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, chloral hydrate, and 2-chloroacetaldehyde, all being toxic for plants, animals, and humans. Nickel has the potential to contaminate the air, ground, and water. TCE spilled or dumped into the ground has the potential to seep down into water supplies, potentially contaminating entire water supplies for an area. Also, when TCE seeps into the ground it has the potential to vaporize; once vaporized, the TCE can move back to ground level, having the potential of seeping into buildings within the air. The release of nickel also creates greenhouse gas emissions and can start habitat destruction for nearby wildlife. Although 99.9% of Plymouth's toxic releases are TCE, released chromium and nickel can have serious effects. Chromium can leave many plants, crops, and other green life contaminated with the toxin. This has the potential to kill and stunt the growth of almost all plants and has the potential to decrease and limit crop growth and yield if contaminated. Further, enough chromium can potentially leach into the ground, damaging soil, and the aquifer underneath. Although the nickel and chromium were only found in trace amounts at Plymouth’s Salisbury site, no amount of toxin is safe for plants, animals, and humans to consume. Any amount can have life long effects on humans and the natural world.
The effects TCE has on the environment can be deadly for nearby plants and wildlife. After one week of being released into the atmosphere, TCE breaks down into the chemicals phosgene, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, chloral hydrate, and 2-chloroacetaldehyde, all being toxic for plants, animals, and humans. Nickel has the potential to contaminate the air, ground, and water. TCE spilled or dumped into the ground has the potential to seep down into water supplies, potentially contaminating entire water supplies for an area. Also, when TCE seeps into the ground it has the potential to vaporize; once vaporized, the TCE can move back to ground level, having the potential of seeping into buildings within the air. The release of nickel also creates greenhouse gas emissions and can start habitat destruction for nearby wildlife. Although 99.9% of Plymouth's toxic releases are TCE, released chromium and nickel can have serious effects. Chromium can leave many plants, crops, and other green life contaminated with the toxin. This has the potential to kill and stunt the growth of almost all plants and has the potential to decrease and limit crop growth and yield if contaminated. Further, enough chromium can potentially leach into the ground, damaging soil, and the aquifer underneath. Although the nickel and chromium were only found in trace amounts at Plymouth’s Salisbury site, no amount of toxin is safe for plants, animals, and humans to consume. Any amount can have life long effects on humans and the natural world.
community impacts
The impacts for people living near the releasing of TCE, chromium, and nickel can be life threatening and offer serious health problems. TCE has the potential to affect human health in many ways, the effects varying depending on length of exposure. Short-term exposure can result in headache, dizziness, irritation of the respiratory tract, drowsiness, other central nervous system effects, and even has the chance to be fatal with exposure exceeding 1000 parts per million(ppm). Chronic exposure to TCE has the possibility to result in permanent and long-term effects on the central nervous system, kidneys, liver, and other parts of the body. These effects include cancer in the liver and kidneys, the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and cardiac arrest. TCE can also result in negative effects for reproductive and developmental systems, creating infertility in males and females, delaying fetal growth, and teratogenesis. Although the amounts of nickel and chromium released from Plymouth were much more minimal compared to TCE, they still have effects on human health. Nickel can cause kidney disease, lung fibrosis, lung cancer, and naval cancer, threatening almost any living organism that meets when aerosolized. Chromium enters the human body through the gastro-intestinal tract and the lungs, and in extreme cases it can seep through one’s skin. Although not toxic when ingested, chromium can be very toxic when inhaled, causing lung cancer, nasal irritation, hypersensitivity, and nasal ulcers.
what is being done?
As of April 2022, Plymouth has done no remediation of the area, nor have they mentioned or planned any in the future. Their worksite is currently listed as an active brownfield site by the Maryland Department of the Environment, also stating that it is not being assessed, nor remediated. Plymouth is currently looking to hire an environmental health and safety coordinator, as the position is currently vacant. Maybe then they will start to properly follow the needed guidelines and regulations to ensure environmental protection and the safety of nearby residents. They are currently being monitored by the EPA and MDE to find possible violations, but more needs to be done in order to serve the injustices created. After several phone calls to contact Plymouth to learn more about their processes, no one had answered, only leaving the answering machine. This is a problem for anyone trying to learn about their business and what they are doing. There is zero awareness on this issue and it is not publicly talked about. If local community members cannot get a hold of Plymouth, how are they to learn about what is actually going on in their plant, and how it effects everyone living nearby?
Currently, Plymouth is legally disposing of Chromium and Nickel, as the amount they release in pounds is under the legal limit allowed to be released. From 2018-2020, Plymouth created a total of 219,330 lbs of TCE. From that, 92,377 lbs was recycled, 26,757 lbs was treated, and 100,196 lbs was disposed of or otherwise released (EPA, 2022). This shows that they are disposing of TCE somewhat correctly, but are still releasing much more than they recycle. 11.2% of TCE, 42.0% of Nickel, and 46.8% of Chromium are transferred out of the state. Virginia receives 88.8% of the waste while Alabama receives 11.2% (EPA, 2022), showing an interesting trend that possibly indicates that all TCE waste is sent to Alabama due to having less strict laws than Virginia, where all of the Nickel and Chromium are possibly ending up.
There are effective ways at handling TCE so that it does not get released into the air or soil. Further, there are also methods that are used to clean up TCE that have been dumped or released, and Plymouth could potentially benefit from using these methods. When TCE is released into the air, it can eventually break down and find its way into ground soil. Once it is in the ground it is much easier to access, manage, and clean up, as compared to it being in the atmosphere. One effective method that is used to clean up TCE that is trapped within soil and underground water is a combination of methods that include air stripping and granular activated carbon (GAC) absorption. Air stripping is a practice that uses moving air to flow underground. Once underground, the air is used to push the contaminated water up above ground and into a treatment system, where chemicals and other contaminates like TCE can be removed. GAC absorption is the process of pumping contaminated water into an underground column that has activated carbon inside of it. Contaminated water is continuously pumped into this column and is continuously drained out, leaving the carbon to filter all the flowing water and hold contaminants within. When the two methods are paired together, it has been shown to handle and effectively treat TCE contaminated soil and ground water.
Plymouth Tube Co. is a very important case to study, as it shows how an ongoing company continues to pollute its nearby environment and local citizens, yet nearly nothing is being done on the issue. This case is crucial to be brought to light, as it is not just a problem for nature and the nearby environment, but for the environmental injustices it creates for the nearby citizens.
Currently, Plymouth is legally disposing of Chromium and Nickel, as the amount they release in pounds is under the legal limit allowed to be released. From 2018-2020, Plymouth created a total of 219,330 lbs of TCE. From that, 92,377 lbs was recycled, 26,757 lbs was treated, and 100,196 lbs was disposed of or otherwise released (EPA, 2022). This shows that they are disposing of TCE somewhat correctly, but are still releasing much more than they recycle. 11.2% of TCE, 42.0% of Nickel, and 46.8% of Chromium are transferred out of the state. Virginia receives 88.8% of the waste while Alabama receives 11.2% (EPA, 2022), showing an interesting trend that possibly indicates that all TCE waste is sent to Alabama due to having less strict laws than Virginia, where all of the Nickel and Chromium are possibly ending up.
There are effective ways at handling TCE so that it does not get released into the air or soil. Further, there are also methods that are used to clean up TCE that have been dumped or released, and Plymouth could potentially benefit from using these methods. When TCE is released into the air, it can eventually break down and find its way into ground soil. Once it is in the ground it is much easier to access, manage, and clean up, as compared to it being in the atmosphere. One effective method that is used to clean up TCE that is trapped within soil and underground water is a combination of methods that include air stripping and granular activated carbon (GAC) absorption. Air stripping is a practice that uses moving air to flow underground. Once underground, the air is used to push the contaminated water up above ground and into a treatment system, where chemicals and other contaminates like TCE can be removed. GAC absorption is the process of pumping contaminated water into an underground column that has activated carbon inside of it. Contaminated water is continuously pumped into this column and is continuously drained out, leaving the carbon to filter all the flowing water and hold contaminants within. When the two methods are paired together, it has been shown to handle and effectively treat TCE contaminated soil and ground water.
Plymouth Tube Co. is a very important case to study, as it shows how an ongoing company continues to pollute its nearby environment and local citizens, yet nearly nothing is being done on the issue. This case is crucial to be brought to light, as it is not just a problem for nature and the nearby environment, but for the environmental injustices it creates for the nearby citizens.
additional resources
- EJ Screen Demographics for the area: demogreportpdf.aspx
- https://www.plymouth.com/alloy-tubing-manufacturing-process/
- Operating permit issued by the MDE for Plymouth's Salisbury site: https://mde.maryland.gov/programs/Permits/AirManagementPermits/Test/Plymouth%20Tube.pdf