Letter to the Editor: We Need Clean Air for All Now

Published March 8th, 2024 at 4:08 pm, Last Updated March 26th, 2024 at 7:30 am

Submitted by Marcy Brandenburg and Dennis O’Mara, Co-Chairs of Clean Air for All Now!

The Albuquerque Journal’s recent article on Intel New Mexico’s new “massive factory” in Rio Rancho celebrated the jobs and benefits from the investment, but made no mention of the public health and environmental concerns that we in the surrounding communities have been raising for decades. We hoped that Intel would use a portion of their $3.5 billion investment to install the latest, most effective abatement equipment to reduce toxic air emissions, but apparently the newly renovated portion of the plant will rely on the same outdated technology used in the past. Intel can and should bring this equipment up to date for the health and safety of our community.

Intel staff insist that they adhere to regulatory standards, but no health standards or profiles exist for many of the dozens of harmful compounds Intel releases into the air. These are chemicals that on their own have been connected to cancer, respiratory and cardiopulmonary problems and many other conditions, and their effects when combined are not entirely understood. 

Here’s how abatement technology currently in use works: Intel’s volatile organic compound (VOC) waste streams enter thermal oxidizers and are burned with natural gas at between 1400-1500 degrees Fahrenheit. Whatever chemicals are not destroyed by this process are vented into the air, along with the products of natural gas combustion and some new chemicals formed by burning this material together. Likewise, Intel’s scrubbers treat acid gas waste streams, which include dangerous hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids, once.

By comparison, newer technologies treat waste multiple times before venting, significantly reducing exposure to harmful chemicals. The EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department allow Intel to assume, without evidence and without our knowledge, input or permission, that what they are putting into the air is safe. However, emerging medical and scientific research suggests that exposure to even low levels of air pollution harms human health and shortens life spans. These emissions should not be presumed safe, and Intel should do everything possible to reduce its emissions to the lowest possible levels using up-to-date technology.

Clean Air for All Now! has been monitoring air pollution near the Intel plant since 2021, and we’ve seen huge early morning spikes of pollutants when no other sources, such as commuter traffic, could be contributing. We believe that Intel is the source of these pollution spikes, and we know that Intel’s new production will increase those emissions, though Intel staff have either been unwilling or unable to tell us by how much.

What we don’t know is why Intel insists on prioritizing profit over public health, especially when the risks can be greatly reduced by investing in the most modern abatement equipment. For decades, many people in Rio Rancho and Corrales have complained about a variety of health problems that they believe are connected to exposure to air pollution. Intel’s increased air emissions will only make the situation worse.

Regulatory bodies need to hold Intel to the highest standards, but Intel itself needs to live up to its “cutting-edge” reputation by not settling for the bare minimum of abatement technology, especially when it comes to something as important as people’s health and our environment. For more information you can visit Clean Air for All! at our website cafanow.org.