FVisitors to this rural area of eastern Nebraska will be impressed by the clean air, blue skies, and seemingly endless farm fields. However, this is an environmental disaster that may impact generations of people who live there.
It has been just more than a year since the state was founded. To close the loophole, regulators intervened.AltEn LLC is an ethanol plant located in Mead (Nebraska), a small community of 500 people near Omaha. The plant was discovered to contain large quantities of toxic, pesticide-laced, waste. It was kept in lagoons and piled up into hills of a sour lime-green mash. This waste was then accidentally released and intentionally spread across the entire area, including to farms and waterways that provide drinking water for wildlife and humans several miles downstream.
A huge cleanup is in progress that could result in significant costs perhaps $100mAccording to Bill Thorson who is the chairman of the village board, it would be even more. Thorson stated that the stench would make your eyes burn in town. Let’s get this cleaned up.
The signs of the impact on this community can be seen everywhere.
After their children had health problems, the owners abandoned their farmhouse. The pond was once filled with fish and other aquatic life. University researchers are now taking samples from residents to check for contaminants.
A family located miles away from this plant said that they now only drink water from plastic containers because of chemical contamination. Stan Keiser, a resident, told the Guardian that we want it back to its original state. It shouldn’t be too difficult to ask.
Crews of environmental engineers are filtering millions upon millions of gallons water through newly constructed treatment units. They also use techniques similar to those used at US Superfund sites to contain the waste. These measures include: Use of a helicopterTo drop a temporary protective shell-like layer of cement, fiber, and clay on 16 acres of waste piles.
This community of 500 people is divided over how to proceed. Some want the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to declare a Superfund location in Mead. Others say that such a move would only increase costs and bureaucracy, and depress property prices.
As part of their efforts to listen to the community, state regulators will hold a public hearing at Mead’s high school gymnasium on April 27. The community will also receive updates and information from the regulators. You can find the information on a specific webpageOn the cleanup. To prevent any further release of toxic substances, the regulators are currently inspecting the site three days a week.
Researchers say that it is unclear if or how much damage can be undone. This situation highlights how difficult, if not impossible, it is to escape contamination by pesticides and other chemicals.
We are using and releasing greater amounts of chemicals into the environment than ever before and we know very little about the long-term effects of exposure, according to Daniel Snow, an environmental scientist and director of the University of Nebraska’s water sciences laboratory.
Neurotoxins in the water
AltEn’s problems stem from a strategy that was not consistent with industry norms. AltEn Large seed companies were advisedThey could dispose of any unwanted stocks of corn seeds and other types of seeds that have been coated with high levels of fungicides, insecticides, and recycle them to make AltEns biofuel.
These treated seeds are used widely by farmers to protect their crops from disease and insects, but they are viewed by environmental advocates as harmful and unnecessary.
AltEn discovered that the seed coatings used to dispose of products contained concentrated amounts of several pesticides. These pesticides are called neonicotinoids. Neurotoxic effectson animals and people.
Neonicotinoids can be found in Used acrossScientific research has shown that they contribute to the decline of important pollinators like honeybees. They are currently found on approximately 150m acres in the US. The US government proposes allowing extended neonics use, despite the fact that some countries have banned them.
While the strategy provided AltEn with ethanol, it also left the plant contaminated with toxic wastewater and more that 80,000 pounds of a pesticide laden solid byproduct or a wet cake, which were scattered around the plant property.
State officials found that the levels of neonic insecticides in AltEn trash were much higher than what is considered safe. According to state records, AltEn waste contained clothianidin at 427,000 part per billion. This is the regulatory threshold for the neonic known by clothianidin.
Regulatory documents show that some of the waste materials were spread on nearby farm fields. More then flowed off AltEn property due to a series events, including heavy rains and a burst pipe. The plant was finally shut down by regulators in early 2021.
AltEns former operators are also being sued by Nebraska attorney general for multiple alleged violations of the environment. AltEn lawyers did not respond to a request to comment.
Six of the top six largest seed companies worldwide have their headquarters in London. Filled lawsuitsAltEn was accused of claiming that plant operators violated contracts and failed safely to dispose off chemically treated seedlings. The Monsanto owners Bayer AG and Syngenta, both Chinese-owned, are funding and organizing the cleanup through a group they call the AltEn Facility Response Group, (AFRG).
In its lawsuitSyngenta argues that AltEn was left with significant environmental risks by plant operators. This included thousands of tons untreated wet cake on property in improperly secured piles and lagoons that were overfilled with wastewater, and at risk of failure.
Contractors hired to AFRG have covered the toxic wet cake with temporary shells, constructed a new lined pond on the AltEn site, and treated 14m gallons worth of wastewater. They have also started disposing the treated water by using it in nearby fields. According to Don Gunster (a NewFields environmental consulting company), they are still analyzing options for how to dispose off the wet cake.
Gunster stated that our efforts are already making a significant impact at the site. He stated that AltEn has made it a top priority to ensure the safety of the community and the environment, while also addressing the site conditions.
Personal losses
Ray and Loftus Their dream home was abandonedAltEn is only half a mile away. Their youngest child developed respiratory problems. They decided that the old farmhouse with its large yard was too close to AltEn to be safe for their four children. The property is now vacant. A child’s ball resting in the grass next to a swing set is moved now only by wind.
Stan Keiser and his wife live a few miles downstream of AltEn. They only drink bottled water because AltEn contaminants were discovered in their well. They are both upset and infuriated at the toxic wastewater that they claim has destroyed all signs of life on the four-acre farmpond. All three tests of the pond water and sediment as well as the private well showed evidence of pesticide contamination.
Amy Whitehead, their daughter, can’t forget the sight and smell of the dead beavers. The fish died in the year that AltEn started using the pesticide coated seeds. The farm has been in her immediate family since 1911. She hopes that her children can continue to live on the land and enjoy it without risk. She worries that this may not be possible anytime soon.
Whitehead stated that he worries about the water. It is not clean. It just seems dead.
Keiser used fishing with his wife and to run grandkids across the pond in a paddleboat. However, the couple dismantled their dock and now keep their distance from the water.
In A letter addressed to state regulatorsThe Keisers voiced concerns about their drinking water in February. They want routine testing done on their well water and a system to filter their water for their home as well as their livestock. They also want their well water treated, the sediment removed, and new liners installed.
Stan Keiser, AltEn’s CEO, stated that they just want to hold these people accountable. They knew exactly what they were doing.
Monitoring health impacts
Researchers say that AltEn wastewater storage lagoons are being cleaned up by experts, but contaminated water is already moving away from Mead and possibly into the aquifer, which supplies water to cities and towns in the region. They fear that more could be leaching into nature from the unlined piles made of wet cake. Some of the waste could also be transmitted by airborne means. Was incineratedAltEn operators before the shutdown.
Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical School will be conducting a study to see if the contamination can have long-term effects on health. They have established an automated system to collect urine and blood from anyone in the area that is concerned about pesticide contamination. Online survey on human healthTo find out more, click here. Researchers at Creighton University and the University of Nebraska are also testing animals and taking samples of soil, water and air. It will take several years to understand the impact on human and environmental health. Up to $8mThey say.
We believe that some of the human consequences of this aren’t going to show themselves in a matter of days, but they will show up maybe in several years, said Eleanor Rogan (interim chair of the health promotion department, College of Public Health at University of Nebraska Medical Center).
Rogan and other researchers claimed that they ran into many roadblocks, including opposition by the agricultural industry as well as state legislators.
Judy Wu-Smart, University of Nebraska research scientist, says the research is anti-business because it highlights the dangers of chemically treated seed.
The legislature rejected a $10m funding request for university research into AltEn impacts and approved instead $1m. Rogan stated that if other funds are not available, the work would have to be stopped.
Carol Blood, a Nebraska Democrat, supports the research and wants to see an investigation into AltEn’s regulatory handling.
Blood is running for governor and promises to end the secrecy surrounding AltEn matters. Blood said that they want to ensure it doesn’t happen again. We don’t know how someone in grade school may be able to have children as a result. People may get cancer, people may get sick. We don’t want people to believe that Mead is a bad area to live and raise children. It is about having clean air to breath and clean water to drink.
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This story has been co-published with The New LedeThe Environmental Working Group’s journalism project, titled.