Tire burning is bad for business

Doug Mavor

Having designed and built custom homes for almost 20 years in Bozeman, I am keenly aware of the undeniable connection between the Gallatin Valley's attractive environment and the local economy.

It's no secret that Bozeman's phenomenal growth over the past 12 years has been fueled by a nationwide perception of southwest Montana as a place of unsurpassed environmental quality.

But now, thanks to Holcim Inc.'s efforts to gain state approval to burn more than 600,000 used tires yearly at its Trident cement plant near Three Forks, both our attractive environment and our economy are seriously threatened.

Holcim plant manager, Ralph Denoski, has stated in the Chronicle that burning used tires would save about $225,000 per year, or about 1.25 percent of their current operating budget. This sounds like a great business move for Holcim. But it can have huge detrimental effects on many other businesses in the Gallatin Valley, not to mention huge health effects on our citizens. Burning scrap tires in a cement kiln releases benzene, heavy metals and dioxins, some of which have been labeled by the EPA as so toxic that there is no safe level of human exposure.

So, while Holcim hopes to cash in on a $225,000 annual windfall, how will other businesses be impacted?

Degraded air quality and the long-term build-up of toxins and heavy metals in the soil will seriously reduce the marketability of agricultural products from our valley. Nearly 35 percent of Montana's dairy industry lies downwind of Holcim's smokestack, as well as some of the finest grain and grazing land in the West. Milk products and meat are the usual "tripwire" where bioaccumulated contaminants are first noticed in our food supply. Burning tires will likely lead to another big hardship in an already hard-hit agriculture sector.

Burning over half a million used tires per year in a 70-year-old dinosaur of a cement plant located right on the banks of the headwaters of the Missouri River can only hurt regional tourism. With increasing national attention on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, our Headwaters Park will be a key area of focus. The question is: Will the focus be on the dramatic setting of that historic locale, or on what is coming out of Holcim's stack?

Our internationally famous blue ribbon trout fisheries will be degraded as a result of tire burning. The same goes for skiing, hiking, hunting and other outdoor recreation industries negatively impacted by a decline in the air quality and by the national perception of the Gallatin Valley as a multi-state waste incineration center.

A spoiled or compromised environment can shut down thousands of jobs in the growth sector of our valley's economy and devastate property values. Remember Libby, Montana? The W.R. Grace asbestos contamination scandal is going to hurt Libby's economy for a long time. Will we let Holcim do that to us?

In all the bad things about burning tires, I could only find one good thing. Ralph Denoski says the burning of tires will save Holcim about 75 cents a ton on the cost of producing cement. Assuming this savings is passed on to the homebuyer (don't hold your breath), I calculate this would save all of $10.50 per new house built.

If, however, one potential homeowner a year decides not to build, the loss to the local economy can be in the millions.

The $225,000 a year Holcim might save by burning used tires sounds like a lot of money. But it is a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous losses most other Gallatin Valley businesses and individuals will experience if Holcim degrades our environment by burning tires.

It is time for all of us in Gallatin Valley to send a firm and clear message to Holcim Cement: "Be a good neighbor! Don't burn scrap tires!"

Doug Mavor was a founding member of Montanans Against Toxic Burning in 1991. He was invited to present a businessman's perspective on the economic impact of burning tires at a June 4, 2001, meeting with the director of Montana Department of Environmental Quality and Montanans Against Toxic Burning.

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