ximately one mile from the proposed site, believes that the cement plant would be devastating to us and the wildlife that lives there. He voiced his concerns about the vegetation and wildlife at a local press conference held by Neil Carman. A former Texas air quality inspector, Carman was brought to Pueblo by opponents of the plant to help educate citizens about the dangers of having a cement plant close in proximity. (citation here).Citizens for Clean Air and Water in Pueblo/Southern Colorado have pointed out that the companys own permit states that it will release about 6 million pounds of pollutants into the air each year. In fact, Rio Grandes application draft for a Colorado air quality control permit states that the plant would emit 160 tons per year of particulate pollution (which averages to about 35 pounds escaping into the air each day), 150 tons of very small particulates, 1,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen, 944 tons of sulfur dioxide and about 1,000 tons of carbon monoxide. (citation here)At first, Rio Grande submitted a draft application asking that the plant be allowed to produce 1 million tons of cement a year in order to meet the demand for the product. Now, information taken from an article by The Pueblo Chieftain Online states the company has submitted an amendment to their permit asking that the plant be allowed to manufacture 100 million tons of cement per year, increasing its volume of emissions as well.Rio Grandes vice president of operations, Ron Hedrick, claims that the only cloud that anyone would see over our operation would be the water vapor on a cold day (citation here). In fact, the many pollutants that would be emitted by the cement plant would be highly invisible, toxins that will eventually end up causing many heath related problems for people who already suffer from asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis as well as pneumonia.Statistics taken from a South Carolina study reported 50 to 100% greater prevalen...
