The shorter letter
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Dear Legislators and others,
I am very concerned about the proposed battery recycling plant proposed for Endicott. This facility has the potential to emit very toxic byproducts into the air. Running such a facility within a few feet from where people live and kids play baseball assumes that everything will run properly all the time. This is reckless assumption in my view.
For many citizens like me the last few weeks has been like living in a whirlwind. Everything has been pushed through at such an incredible speed – and during a pandemic!
Until the formation of the group NoBurnBroome on April 15, 2020, most people in the village didn’t know about this facility. Now many people are concerned but to little avail. The Mayor seems is ignoring our concerns.
I was shocked to learn that the Trustees had never discussed this facility among themselves. until the night of the public hearing and when they voted (3 to 2) to push it through.
We urgently request you to use the influence of your good offices to help us avert this tragedy in the making.
Can you please help the Mayor and the Trustees slow down this process until a public hearing can be held where both sides can present expert testimony and calmer assessments can be made.
I would also hope that in addition that Broome County would insist on a full Environmental Impact Assessment for this experimental project, since there is certainly potential for impacts to go beyond the borders of Endicott.
Please help us.
Sincerely,
The longer letter
Dear Legislators and others,
I am sending this email to anyone who I think might be able to help save the Village of Endicott from a disastrous decision. I am talking about the South Korean company Sungeel’s lithium-ion battery recycling facility which involves the high-temperature treatment of some of the battery components and the burning (i.e., incineration) of the gases produced. This facility is planned for the corner of Robble and Clark.
These processes have the potential to produce very toxic emissions, including at least four known human carcinogens which were identified in DEC’S Air Permit of March 30, as well as highly toxic hydrogen fluoride and fluorinated byproducts, that were not considered in the DEC Air permit.
Running such a facility within a few feet from where people live and kids play baseball assumes that everything will run properly all the time. No fires, no leaks, no mechanical breakdowns or human failures. This is a reckless assumption in my view.
For many citizens like me the last few weeks has been like living in a whirlwind. Everything has been pushed through at such an incredible speed – and during a pandemic.
Until the formation of the group NoBurnBroome on April 15, 2020, most people in the village didn’t know about this facility or the potential dangers involved. Now that more people are learning of the dangers the opposition has virtually exploded: over 3000 people have signed a petition; 75 then 250 and then 290 people attended zoom meetings organized by the Village Board. But to little avail. Three trustees seem oblivious to the dangers involved. There is an imminent need to allow the residents to become informed about this proposal as they have the potential for disproportionately high and adverse human health impacts due to their proximity to the facility.
Lastly, I was shocked to learn that the Village Board of Trustees had never discussed this facility among themselves until the night of the public hearing and when they voted.
We urgently request you to use the influence of your good offices to help us avert this tragedy in the making.
We do not believe that the Mayor and her two supporters on the Village board are bad people, but we do believe it is a very bad decision to
- encourage this company to use incineration in its operation in the Village of Endicott and
- rush through a zoning change law that would allow this facility – and others like it or worse – to operate in over 500 acres of currently zoned industrial land.
Can you please help the Mayor and the Trustees extricate themselves from the situation that they have put themselves in by halting the process until a full public hearing can be held where both sides can present expert testimony and calmer assessments can be made.
I would also hope that in addition that Broome County would insist on a full Environmental Impact Assessment (including a formal accident analysis) for this facility, since there is certainly potential for impacts to go beyond the borders of Endicott.
Please help us.
Sincerely,
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NoBurnBroome 