Table Of Content{^^^r^^r^ r^p^ Pl&S ^^H^e
"H
^'•i ij^ t\th
PHYTOTOXICOLOGY 1995
INVESTIGATION:
FORD ESSEX ALUMINUM PLANT
WINDSOR
MAY
1998
-^ , Ministry
Ontario
Environment
ISBN 0-7778-7447-4
PHYTOTOXICOLOGY 1995 INVESTIGATION:
FORD ESSEX ALUMINUM PLANT
WINDSOR
MAY
1998
Cettepublicationtechnique
n'estdisponible qu'en anglais.
Copyright: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1998
This publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes
with appropriate attribution.
PIBS 3643E
PHYTOTOXICOLOGY 1995INVESTIGATION:
FORDESSEXALUMINUMPLANT
WINDSOR
Reportpreparedby:
WilliamI. Gizyn
Standards DevelopmentBranch
PhytotoxicologySection
OntarioMinistryofEnvironmentandEnergy
ReportNo: SDB-011-3511-1997
Background:
FordMotorCompanyofCanadaLimited, andtheaffiliated FordEnsiteInternationalInc.,
operatetheEssex AluminumPlant. Thisplant,referredtoas 'FordEssex' inthisreport, is
locatedat6500CantelonDriveinthewesternpartoftheCityofWindsor.
Aluminummetal scrapismelted in tworotaryfurnacesandcastintoautomotiveengine
components. A fluxconsistingofNaCl, KCl and KalF^ isaddedtothefurnacestoprevent
oxidationandremoveimpurities. The moltenaluminumistransferredtoholding furnaces and
thentopouringladles. Whileinthe ladles, amixtureofCU andN^ gasesisbubbledthroughthe
molten aluminumtoremove dissolvedgasesthatwouldcreatevoidsinthe finishedcasting.
Theseprocedures havethe potential toemithydrofluoric acid(HF) andhydrochloric acid
(HCl). Priorto 1994,emissions fromtherotaryfurnaceswereventedthroughbaghousesto
controlparticulatereleasesonly. In 1994, FordEssex installedexhaustgasscrubbers tominimize
thereleaseofthese acidgases. Aftersome modifications, these scrubberswerereportedtohave
reduced acidgasreleasetothepointwhere,duringan August 1995 survey, theMOEETAGA
6000, amobiletandemmass spectrometer, failedtodetecteitherHForHCl inthevicinityofthe
plant. Priortothe installationofthe scrubbers, theTAGA6000reported frequentandsubstantial
exceedencesofthe AirQualityStandardforbothacidgases.
PreviousPhytotoxicologyInvestigations:
ThePhytotoxicologySectionconductedits first investigation aroundthisplantin 1992
andfollowedupin 1993 and 1994. These investigationsconsistedofcollectionsofgrasstissue
andtree foliage atvariouslocations aroundtheplant. Chemical analysisofthe samplesprovided
abiological indicatorofemissionsoffluoride andchloridecompounds fromtheFordEssex
processes. Vegetationwas alsoexaminedforsignsofacuteinjurythatcouldbeascribedtothe
acidgases,especiallyHF.
Theresultsoftheseinvestigations werereported in threeMOEEreports. Thesethree
documentswereassignedthefollowingreport numbers:
HCB-012-3512-93 (1992 investigation)
SDB-043-3512-94 (1993 investigation)
SDB-033-3511-95TM (1994investigation)
The 1992 investigationwasconductedin Augustofthatyearandconsistedofcollections
andchemical analysisofgrass samples from20locations. Five locations were alignedalongeach
offourtransectlines followingtheprincipalcompasspoints, todistancesofabout 1000metres.
Foliage fromfoursilvermapletrees, one fromeachtransectline, was alsocollected. Thesetrees
werethenearestsilvermapletreestoFordEssex alongeachrespectivetransectline.
The 1992 investigationconfirmedthat FordEssexwas asource offluoride. However, the
timingofthecollection, whichoccurredafew weeks afterascheduledsummershut-down of
operationsatFordEssex,coupledwiththeprobablegrassmowingactivityatmanyofthe
1
samplingsites,madeitimpossibletoquantifytheeffectoffluorideemissionsonfoliar
concentrationsoffluoride.
The 1993 and 1994investigationsrepeatedthe grasssamplingatthe20locations.
However,thesecollectionstookplaceinlateJune,justpriortotheJulyshut-down. Silvermaple
foliagewascollectedatninelocations, theoriginal fourplusfivenew locations. Thetree foliage
collectionwasperformedattheendofSeptembertoprovideaslonganexposureperiodas
possible. ThedatafromthesecollectionscontinuedtopointtoFordEssex asthefluoridesource.
Chlorineconcentrations inthe vegetationsamplescouldnotbeusedtodefine anemittingsource
becauseofthenaturallyhighbackgroundconcentrationsofthiselementinvegetation. Thisis
particularlyaproblemin theextreme southwesternpartofOntario.
Thefluorideconcentrationsinthegrasssamplescollectedin 1994weresubstantially
lowerthanin 1992or 1993. Meanwhilethe 1994silvermaple foliarfluorideconcentrationsdid
notexhibitsuchdramaticreductions. Elevatedconcentrationswerealsoapparentoverawider
geographicarea.
1995PhytotoxicologyInvestigations:
Afterreviewingthethreedatasets forthe fluorideconcentrations ingrasstissue, itwas
concludedthatgrasswasnotasuitable material tomonitortheeffects ofthe fluorideemissions
fromFordEssex. It wasnotpossibletoascertainthatthegrass tissue availableatagivensitewas
allexposedforan equal periodoftime. Grassmowingat some locationsanddifferentgrowth
andsenescencerates fordifferentspecieswouldall contributetotissuesamplesthathadbeen
exposeddifferently. Althoughproventobeaneffectiveinvestigativetool inrural areas, grass
samplingmaybe lessuseful inurbancommunitieswhere landscapingismoreprevalent.
In 1995.the grasscollections werediscontinued, andthe silvermaplecollectionswere
enhancedbyestablishingthree new samplinglocations. Thesewerenotlocatedalongany
particulartransectline,butdidoccurtothenorthoftheplant,downwindofthemostfrequent
winddirection. Thesethreenew stationswerespecificallyselectedtobe asclosetoFordEssex
aspossible, yetnotbe locatedoncompanyproperty. Figure 1 consistsofamapshowingthe
locations ofall silvermaples sampledin 1995.
Thecollectiontookplaceon September26, 1995. Silvermaplefoliage sampleswere
collectedbycuttingabranch fromthe sideofthecanopyfacingFordEssex,removingthe leaves
andplacingthemintolabelledkraftbags. Duplicate sampleswerecollected. Duringthis
collection,othervegetationnearthe silvermaplewasexaminedforevidenceoffluoride injury.
The samples weredeliveredtothePhytotoxicologyprocessinglaboratorywhere non-
foliarmaterial (seeds,twigs) wasremoved. The foliagewasthendriedin aforced-draftoven and
groundinastainlesssteel,rotating-blade (Wiley™)milltopassthroughaonemillimetrescreen.
Flintglassjarswithpolyethylene lids were usedtocontain the processedsamples.
The samples were forwardedtotheMOEELaboratoryServicesBranchwherethe
materialwasanalysedforfluoride.Briefly,the analysisinvolvedextractingthe samplein aweak
acidsolutionanddeterminingthefluorideionconcentrationbyaspecific ionelectrode.
Figure 1: SilverMapleFoliageSamplingLocationsintheVicinityofthe
FordEssexAluminumPlant,Windsor- 1995Investigation Results
g^=SilverMapleFoliageSamplingLocation METRES 1000
Theresultsofthechemical analysesofthe silvermaplesamples,expressedasmeansof
theduplicates,aregiveninthetableonthefollowingpage. Thistablealsocontains UpperLimit
ofNormal (ULN)concentrationguidelines forfluoride intree foliage.The ULNguidelinesare
explainedintheappendix tothisreport.
Theconcentrationsoffluorideinthe silvermaple foliage samples, asdetermined forthe
1995 samples, arepresentedgraphicallyinFigures2, alongwiththeconcomitantdatafromthe
precedingcollectionsof 1992through 1994.
Observationsofthefoliagefromthetreessampledin 1995, aswell asfoliagefromother
speciesinthevicinity, failedtoreveal anyevidenceofinjurythatcouldbeattributedtoHF. Such
injurywasobservedduringpreviousinvestigations.
MeanFluorideConcentrations(microgramspergram)inSilverMapleFoliage
inthe VicinityoftheFordEssex Aluminum Plant, Windsor, September26, 1995
