Document EmaOMen67KvaXXwgGLL7oG0O4

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION 5 77 WEST JACKSON BOULEVARD CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60604 SUBJECT: FROM: THRU: TO: CLEAN AIR ACT INSPECTION REPORT Atlantic Alumina Company, Gramercy, Louisiana Karina Kuc, Environmental Engineer AECAB (IL/IN) Nathan Frank, Section Supervisor AECAB (IL/IN) File BASIC INFORMATION Facility Name: Atlantic Alumina Company (Atalco) Facility Location: 1111 E Airline Hwy, Gramercy, LA 70052 Date of Inspection: April 18, 2022 EPA Inspector(s): 1. Karina Kuc, Environmental Engineer 2. Victoria Nelson, Environmental Engineer Other Attendees: 1. Charlotte Hooker, Atalco, Environmental Manager 2. Kevin Matherne, Atalco, Environmental Specialist Contact Email Address: steven.smith@atalco.com Purpose of Inspection: to assess compliance with the Clean Air Act and the Title V operating permit Facility Type: alumina production Arrival Time: 3:30 PM Departure Time: 6:45 PM Inspection Type: Unannounced Inspection Announced Inspection OPENING CONFERENCE Presented Credentials Stated authority and purpose of inspection Provided Small Business Resource Information Sheet Provided CBI warning to facility The following information was obtained verbally from Atlantic Alumina employees unless otherwise noted. Company Ownership: In November 2021, Noranda became Atlantic Alumina Company. Process Description: Atalco extracts alumina from bauxite using the Bayer process. Bauxite ore comes into the facility by barge from a mine in Jamaica. The dock and unloading operations are conducted by a 3rd party. The bauxite is placed into a hopper, fed to a conveyor and transferred to the "Jamaica building" for storage. The conveyor system is controlled by misters and a wet scrubber. The ore is then conveyed to the Bradford Breaker where it is sorted to remove limestone. The Bradford Breaker is controlled by a dust collector. In digestion tanks, bauxite is mixed with spent liquor (50% caustic and water) and heated to extract alumina. Next, the red mud is seperated from the impregnated liquor. The red mud is stored on site in ponds. The recovered liquor goes through evaporation to remove moisture. Next, seed hydrate is added to precipitate out the alumina. At this point the material (wetcake) can be shipped out as final product or it can be further processed in a dryer to produce dry hydrate or in a kiln to produce calcined alumina. The three kilns are controlled by electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Final products (wetcake, dry hydrate, and calcined alumina) are shipped out by truck, barge and rail. Staff Interview: Mercury samples are collected monthly throughout the process to calculate mercury emissions by mass balance. Stacks are monitored daily for opacity. The ESPs are monitored for current (milliamps) and voltage (kilovolts). TOUR INFORMATION EPA Tour of the Facility: Yes Data Collected and Observations: EPA observed the dock however, no unloading or loading operations were occurring, therefore the hopper and conveyor were not running. All surfaces were covered in a layer of red dust. Bauxite was spilling out from the bottom of the wall of the Jamaica building. Dust was observed emitting from the bottom of the conveyor and from the Bradford Breaker building. We asked Kevin, who is Method 9 certified, to conduct a Method 9 reading, he said it was consistently about 20 to 25% opacity, but he did not perform a full Method 9 reading. Charlotte and Kevin said that this amount of dust was unusual and that there Page 2 of 4 may be maintenance occurring. There were no visible emissions at two ESP stacks. There were visible emissions from the ESP stack for Kiln 3. Kevin and Charlotte said that operators may be performing maintenance and vacuuming in Kiln 3. Throughout the facility, EPA observed fugitive dust and piles of bauxite dust blown off from the processing steps. Photos and/or Videos: were taken during the inspection. Field Measurements: were not taken during this inspection. CLOSING CONFERENCE Provided U.S. EPA point of contact to the facility Requested documents: SDSs for bauxite, final products, and water treatment products used 3 months (Feb-April 2022) of Method 9 and Method 22 readings Emissions calculations for 2020 and 2021 in an unlocked excel spreadsheet including any assumptions and calculations Most recent performance tests Mercury sampling results for the last year Concerns: EPA communicated that the airborne dust observed during the inspection was an issue. DIGITAL SIGNATURES Digitally signed by Kuc, Kuc, Karina Date: 2022.05.17 Karina Report Author: _____________1_3:_28_:5_4 _-0_5'0_0'_____________ Section Supervisor: Frank, Digitally signed by Frank, Nathan Date: 2022.05.17 N__a_t_h_a_n_______15_:1_3:_05_-_05_'00_' ______________ Page 3 of 4 Facility Name: Atalco Facility Location: 1111 E Airline Hwy, Gramercy, LA 70052 Date of Inspection: April 18, 2022 APPENDICES AND ATTACHMENTS Appendix A - Digital Video Log Appendix B - Digital Image Log Page 4 of 4 Facility Name: Atalco Facility Location: 1111 E Airline Hwy, Gramercy, LA 70052 Date of Inspection: April 18, 2022 APPENDIX A: DIGITAL VIDEO LOG 1. Inspector Name: Victoria Nelson 2. Archival Record Location: Region 5 Electronic Records Center Image Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 File Name MVI_0046. MP4 MVI_0047. MP4 MVI_0048. MP4 MVI_0049. MP4 MVI_0050. MP4 MVI_0051. MP4 Date and Time (Central time) 4/18/2022 16:41 4/18/2022 16:41 4/18/2022 16:42 4/18/2022 16:43 4/18/2022 16:43 4/18/2022 16:45 Description of Video Dust coming from bottom of conveyor Dust coming from bottom of conveyor Dust coming from bottom of conveyor Dust coming from bottom of conveyor Dust coming from conveyor and Bradford Breaker, facing north Dust coming from conveyor and Bradford Breaker, facing north Appendices Page 1 of 2 Facility Name: Atalco Facility Location: 1111 E Airline Hwy, Gramercy, LA 70052 Date of Inspection: April 18, 2022 APPENDIX B: DIGITAL IMAGE LOG 1. Inspector Name: Victoria Nelson 2. Archival Record Location: Region 5 Electronic Records Center Image Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 File Name IMG_0039.JPG IMG_0040.JPG IMG_0041.JPG IMG_0042.JPG IMG_0043.JPG IMG_0044.JPG IMG_0045.JPG IMG_0052.JPG IMG_0053.JPG Date and Time (Central time) 2022:04:18 16:27:40 2022:04:18 16:28:13 2022:04:18 16:29:19 2022:04:18 16:36:00 2022:04:18 16:36:07 2022:04:18 16:38:52 2022:04:18 16:41:28 2022:04:18 17:08:36 2022:04:18 17:25:28 Description of Image Hopper at unloading dock Open access door at conveyor near the unloading dock Open access door at conveyor near the unloading dock Jamaica building Pile of dust outside of Jamaica building Dust spilling out of bottom of Jamaica building Dust from bottom of conveyor Kilns Red mud pond Appendices Page 2 of 2