EPA to Support NDEE with Air Sampling at AltEn LLC Facility in Mead, Nebraska, from May 31 to June 2, 2022

(May 31, 2022) - In response to a request from the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with assistance from NDEE personnel, will conduct air sampling from May 31 to June 2, 2022, in an attempt to identify compounds that could be causing the foul odors at and near the AltEn LLC ethanol facility in Mead, Nebraska, weather permitting.

NDEE is the lead regulatory agency overseeing the AltEn facility, and has conducted numerous other sampling efforts including groundwater, surface water, air, waste material, and soil.

In September 2021, following a request from NDEE, EPA and NDEE personnel conducted what is called “targeted screening-level air monitoring” on and near the facility using stationary and mobile (specialized pickup truck with monitoring devices) air monitoring tools. EPA used targeted sampling methods to look for specific compounds, including hydrogen sulfide, methane, benzene, toluene, and p-xylene. All sample results were found to be below levels of concern.

NDEE’s summary and full report are available on their online public records portal. Search terms to use: Date: 12/14/2021, DEQ Facility Number: 84069, and DEQ Program: Air. The report titles are: “DEQ Summary - MONITORING / EPA” and “DEQ Report - MONITORING / EPA”.

For the May 31 to June 2 sampling effort, EPA will use an approach called “non-targeted analysis” (NTA). The tools and techniques used in this approach allow the Agency to screen for compounds from among thousands of chemicals, rather than a small set of specific chemicals. In the laboratory analyses of the samples, EPA uses high-tech equipment and advanced computers to find chemicals that otherwise could have gone unnoticed using targeted methods.

However, there are limitations in how NTA sampling and laboratory analytical results can be used. NTA produces qualitative results that do not estimate the concentration of chemicals, which is necessary to assess potential human exposure levels and health risks.

EPA will provide the resulting data and laboratory results to NDEE.

For current information on the AltEn LLC facility, please visit NDEE’s public information page: AltEn Information and Updates.

Background

EPA will use high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) instruments to measure the mass and pattern of elements found in the samples that will be taken at and near the AltEn facility. When EPA scientists compare the results of this high-resolution “snapshot” with a list of known chemicals, they can identify the types of chemicals that are present in the samples. EPA uses a list of more than 900,000 compounds to compare to the results from the sample evaluation.

NDEE Contact: Carla Felix, Public Information Office, 402-471-2923, carla.felix@nebraska.gov

EPA Contact: Curtis Carey, Public Affairs Office, 913-551-7506, carey.curtis@epa.gov