Lockhart Chemical Co. located in Flint

FLINT, MI -- The state of Michigan says a Flint chemical company with a permit to discharge into the Flint River appears to be responsible for contaminated stormwater or groundwater that has found its way into the city’s storm sewer system.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued a violation notice on Sept. 21 to Lockhart Chemical Company after testing of groundwater and storm sewers in and around the plant on James P. Cole Boulevard showed elevated levels of PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, arsenic, vinyl chloride, and other chemicals.

The violation, detailed in a nine-page letter to the company, gives Lockhart until Oct. 21 to respond to a laundry list of concerns detailed by EGLE and requires a corrective action plan within 90 days that may include a significant upgrade or replacement of a secondary containment system at the facility.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach Raj Minhas, president and chief operating officer of Lockhart, which has been permitted with EGLE’s Water Resources Division since November 1994.

The company traces its roots to the late 1800′s when Charles Lockhart entered Pennsylvania’s oil industry, according to Lockhart’s website.

After nearly a century in the steel and aluminum business, the company purchased a 13-acre chemical manufacturing site in Flint, which became Lockhart Chemical Company.

“Today, Lockhart manufactures and globally markets a wide range of additives for formulating rust preventives, corrosion inhibitors, emulsifier packages and other processing additives for metalworking and greases,” the company’s website says.

EGLE’s violation notice says the state received results of sampling at Lockhart in October 2019 after earlier testing showed levels of concern with the potential to violate water quality standards for 1,2,3-trime thylbenzene, vinyl chloride, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

The testing was carried out in response to a complaint filed with EGLE of “an offensive odor and unnatural discharge coming from an outfall to the Flint River,” according to a May 20, 2019, letter to the company.

In April, EGLE staff “verified the offensive odor and observed both an unnatural color and sheen coming from the outfall,” the letter continued.

“The results indicate the unauthorized discharge to the Flint River of contaminated water containing PFOS in excess of (water quality standards),” the state said in the May 20 letter.

“Grab sample concentrations for PFOS were 27 (parts per trillion) at the outfall and 24 (ppt) from the manhole,” the letter says. " The (water quality standard) (based on the human non-cancer drinking water value) for discharges to surface waters of the state is 11 ppt.”

“Infiltration of contaminated groundwater to the city of Flint’s storm sewer system that runs under the property has been a long-running issue at the site,” the letter says.

The state’s September letter to Minhas says Lockhart’s required corrective action plan must address the condition of a concrete berm that acts as a secondary containment for a storage tank near the company’s employee parking lot. The berm is “broken, with polluting material leaking onto the pavement.”

“Additionally, staff observed oily sheens and a chemical odor in the secondary containment area,” which is near the storm sewer, “resulting in a high potential for discharging to a water of the state.”

“Spilled polluting materials may escape through cracks and separations of these flat surfaces before discharging to the facility’s trench system, which may then contaminate groundwater that could infiltrate into the (Flint storm sewer system) and discharge to the Flint River,” the letter says.

Cheri Meyer, the district supervisor for EGLE’s Water Resources Division’s Lansing District office, said the state permit for Lockhart allows for the discharge of clean stormwater directly into the Flint River.

The permit is in an “extended status” because a renewal application is still being reviewed. The permit was otherwise due to have expired April 1, 2020, Meyer said.

The contamination of groundwater on the property is a concern, she said, because it may be infiltrating the city’s stormwater system.

“Our big concern is to make sure pollutants are not getting in the Flint River,” Meyer said.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA , PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Known as “forever chemicals,” PFAS are considered harmful at the low parts-per-trillion level in the bodies of people exposed to them. Some are known to increase the risk of kidney and testicular cancer, suppress immune system response, and cause pregnancy complications and low birth weights.

Dioxane is classified by the EPA as likely to be carcinogenic to humans by all routes of exposure. It also can cause kidney and liver damage, and respiratory problems.

Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with an increased risk of a rare form of liver cancer, as well as brain and lung cancers, lymphoma and leukemia, according to the National Cancer Institute.

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