Introduction[edit]

Norlite, LLC is a manufacturer of lightweight aggregate materials located in the City of Cohoes, New York, and owned by Barcelona-based parent company, Tradebe. It has been heavily criticized by community members including by activist organization, Lights Out Norlite, for posing a public health risk for decades in violation of its permits.

Norlite Plant

Operation[edit]

Norlite has been in operation since 1956 producing lightweight aggregate from shale mined at the plant. After mining, the shale is first crushed in a series of crushers and screens before being fed to one of the two rotary kilns. The material is then heated up to 2100 degrees until it reaches the point of incipient fusion where the shale is in a semiplastic state. The expanded shale, known as clinker, is cooled in one of two clinker coolers before being crushed to the desired product size.

Norlite’s lightweight aggregate is used in numerous construction projects including the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, and the TWA terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

In 1977, Norlite switched from using coal as a source of fuel in their production process to begin burning hazardous waste in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. It is estimated that Norlite has been paid nearly $180 million to accept hazardous waste generated by other manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2009.

Environmental and health concerns[edit]

Norlite’s environmental troubles date back to the 1990s with a series of permit violations in which New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) directed Norlite to undertake several actions relating to the submission of plans for the construction of a landfill, an air pollution control system blowdown control, and a management practices plan to minimize the potential for release of kiln dust to the waters.

In May 2002, Norlite pled guilty to illegally dumping waste oil and fuel into a storm drain and failing to report it to the state. As a result of the legal action, Norlite paid a $100,000 fine and was forced to implement a number of measures to ensure full compliance including allowing the State freer access to monitor the company's operations.

From January through April of 2009, Norlite experienced 43 episodes in which carbon monoxide (CO) emissions exceeded federal safety limits of 100 parts per million. Rising carbon monoxide often indicates incomplete combustion of waste.

In October 2011, Norlite failed a regularly schedule pollution test for the emission of dioxin, a known carcinogen. Norlite later changed some test conditions and retested passing the dioxin standard at both the higher and lower temperatures.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed an official complaint against Norlite in January 2020 regarding air quality requirement violations determined from a series of compliance evaluation inspections beginning in March 2015. Norlite exceeded the Operating Parameter Limit (OPL) for maximum gas exit temperature, which is necessary to control emissions of dioxins and furans, and it exceeded the OPL for minimum pressure drop in the scrubber, which impacts the ability to control emissions of hydrogen chloride, chlorine gas, and particulate matter. The settlement required the payment of $150,000 for the past violations.

In February 2020, environmental activist groups filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Defense (DOD) over its 2019 contact with Norlite to incinerate Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) containing PFOA and PFOS. This firefighting foam had been stored at military installations throughout the northeast but was disposed of due to the health risks. PFOA and PFOS are perfluoroalkyl and poly-fluoroalkyl substances that have been known to cause serious health effects in people exposed to the chemicals through water supplies. Norlite’s contract with DOD was terminated in May 2020.

In November 2020, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill banning the burning of aqueous film-forming foam containing PFAS chemicals in cities designated Environmental Justice areas.

In January 2021, Dr. Dave Walker, Ph.D., professor emeritus of Earth and Environmental Sciences from Columbia Climate School conducted independent research determining the presence of razor-sharp quartz shards in fine dust samples taken from the neighboring community. According to Norlite’s own Saftey Data Sheets, long-term exposure to crystalline silica (quartz) can cause lung cancer as well as silicosis, a respiratory disease that is typically fatal.

In March 2021, the DEC released a 449-page report finding no clear link between PFAS and heavy metals to Norlite’s operations and no indication of human health risk. Researchers and community leaders responded with a letter to DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos strongly disagreeing with the study's conclusions.

Following an announced lawsuit against Norlite’s parent company, Tradebe, over hazardous silica dust, the DEC initiated a comprehensive study of off-site dust in the Spring of 2021. In February 2022, the DEC issued a Notice of Violation requiring Norlite to immediately cease and desist from any activity resulting in fugitive dust leaving the Norlite property. This came after an interim report concluded dust particles larger than PM2.5 are migrating to the surrounding community despite being well below federal health-based standards.

In October 2022, Attorney General Letitia James and DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos filed a lawsuit against Norlite to force the company to stop polluting the air with contaminants. As of February 2023, Attorney General James and Norlite reached an agreement regarding the state’s injunction that will prompt extensive dust control measures and monitoring.

Saratoga Sites[edit]

Saratoga Sites is a public housing development built in 1962 located less than a thousand feet from Norlite’s facility.

The Saratoga Sites residents have been the most involved in activism efforts to fight against Norlite’s hazardous waste incineration. Some residents have reported wiping dust off their vehicles in the morning or ash-covered snow in the winter.

In February 2022, Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler wrote a letter to the Cohoes Housing Authority telling them of the city’s plans to buy the property and demolish it once all 70 families are relocated. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved the plans in August 2022 to vacate and tear down Saratoga Sites.

Saratoga Sites across the train tracks from Norlite

Lights Out Norlite[edit]

Lights Out Norlite is an activist organization created to raise awareness about Norlite and its dangers to public health. Lights Out Norlite and its sister organization, Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions (SSANE) maintain that the hazardous waste incinerator is unenforceable and will continue to pose a threat to the surrounding community in violation of its permits.

Lights Out Norlite fought to deny Norlite’s Title V permit renewal and delivered a letter to the DEC signed by 122 community organizations including the League of Women Voters of NYS, the NYS Council of Churches, NAACP Troy, Riverkeeper, Food & Water Watch, Troy Central Little League, and Soul Fire Farm.