Norlite

Introduction

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

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 could have been paid nearly $180 million to accept hazardous waste generated by other manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2009.