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Date: 2/28/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — The Selectboard opened a public hearing during their Feb. 21 meeting to consider a flammable storage license for the manufacturing company E Ink.
E Ink Corporation manufactures a unique electronic material that is laminated onto a substrate to make “electronic links” for low energy displays. Due to increased demand, and with the approval of the South Hadley Planning Board and Conservation Commission, E Ink is looking to expand its manufacturing facility to meet current and projected production requirements.
Representatives from the company met with the Selectboard to discuss a flammable storage license for the company.
Expansion plans for the company were announced last year and the South Hadley Conservation Commission and Planning Board have issued approval for redevelopment of the property located on 7 Gaylord St., owned by E. Ink.
Speaking to the Selectboard during the hearing on behalf of the application was Environmental Health and Safety Manager at South Hadley E Ink Tony Vinciguerra and Associate Principal for chemical and fire protection from ARUP Johnathon Eisenberg. Eisenberg is in an advisory role for the proposed project.
ARUP is a Boston-based design service organization dedicated to sustainable development.
Vinciguerra explained the sustainable development. work E Ink provides and said that due to increased demand they were looking to expand their facility for current and future production. He noted the existing facility had four flammable storage rooms and the addition of a new facility would add to that number and increase the overall space of the facility.
The amounts requested for the license are about 98,000 gallons of flammable liquid and about 5,000 pounds of flammable solids. These chemicals are being brought in for the proposed project. Planning and Conservation has reviewed the application and have been aware of the materials related to project and had cleared it already before the hearing.
Their presentation also listed how the approval of this renovated site would benefit the town. The list included that the renovated site would provide stable jobs, stabilization and expansion of the local economy and be a contributing factor to the redevelopment of the mill buildings and South Hadley Falls.
Vinciguerra also noted he and others from E Ink perform complete compliance evaluations annually to make sure they are up to proper health and safety codes having flammable storage units.
“My job function is to keep our employees safe and to keep the environment safe, which in turn is going to keep our South Hadley neighbors safe,” Vinciguerra said.
Selectboard member Andrea Miles asked Vinciguerra about what protections were in place in case of emergency and cited recent ongoing national news as reason for her concern. Eisenberg said the storage tanks are “above and beyond” what the code requires.
“The outdoor storage tanks are two-hour fire rated, so those are special tanks that is above and beyond what the code requires. We felt for best safety practice it was prudent to do that,” Eisenberg said.
“They’re double walled inherently to provide that layer of fire resistance so that’s the other part of this is we’ve gone above and beyond in code in terms of containment.”
Eisenberg added they fully expect no issues with the tanks that would be put in themselves but in case of a leak they will have the extra wall barrier and a containment tank in which the tanks are located in. He also noted with recent national and global news, preventing contamination of water from the chemicals stored at the company was very important.
Eisenberg noted firefighter foam has been identified globally as a contributor to contaminant that has often been found in drinking water around the world. He said there is a foam water protection system in place in their plans to protect the water and they have also been advising a team to go with a non-fluorinated foam concentrate that has been recently environmentally approved.
“We’re very aware of that environmental concern,” Eisenberg said.
When opened to the public, one resident asked the exact goal and purpose of the hearing.
Selectboard Chair Jeff Cyr explained that the goal of the hearing was to learn about the proposed project from E Ink and the chemicals being brought in to complete the project. He noted the precautionary measures being taken with the tanks and E Ink’s investment in South Hadley having their site in town adds to the trust with the company and the community it is in.
The same resident asked if there was writing in place in case of a “catastrophic incident” in terms of liability and accountability in an accident. Vinciguerra said they have proper plans and protocols in case of emergencies of that level and have the proper team to respond to any chemical emergencies.
“There’s a lot of neighbors in that neighborhood. I personally don’t live there but I do have a concern for them,” the resident explained. “I know your operation is much tighter and you’re not putting toxic waste in a landfill or whatever, I’m just concerned based on what we read and see on the news today. It’s a big concern and sometimes things get out of hand even though they’re well programmed to be monitored.”
Vinciguerra and Eisenberg both agreed with the resident’s point and said that is why they have taken so many precautions to be best suited for any potential disaster scenarios. The Selectboard ultimately voted to unanimously approve the license proposal from E Ink. They will soon begin the project and expansion of their site.