Stellantis: Odor from Mack plant not health risk, ducting issue to be fixed within weeks
A Stellantis representative told Detroit residents Wednesday night that odors from one of the company's east side plants that prompted more than 50 complaints to state regulators are not a health risk.
The representative, Al Johnston, a manager of corporate environmental programs for the automaker, also said a separate issue involving ducting of exhaust gases from the painting processes would be corrected by the end of the year. That exhaust was not being routed through emissions control equipment, an issue discovered after residents began complaining about odors.
Johnston said the company, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands, takes "full responsibility" and is working to address concerns at its Mack plant, where new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee are built.
His comments came during a sometimes tense, three-hour annual meeting held via Zoom to update residents on the status of the community benefits agreement between the city and company that followed the announcement of the plant in 2019. Aside from the odor and emissions concerns, the meeting topics touched on everything from the number of Detroiters hired at the plant to educational efforts funded by the agreement.
“The odor issue at the site, which we’re working to address, is not an air health risk. This is what we’ve determined through modeling that we’ve done. The State of Michigan did the same modeling. They confirmed our conclusion on that," Johnston said, noting that "obviously odors are not acceptable. We’re working on a solution to that. ... We don’t want odors to be emitted from our facility.”
Johnston also provided data from ambient air quality monitoring the company has conducted on the site, which he said showed that concentrations of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are consistent with state monitoring at a location on east Seven Mile Road, meaning that the air quality is similar at a site away from the plant. He also referenced company testing that he said showed that volatile organic compounds in the area of the plant were not problematic.
One of the residents who has been most outspoken in the past, Robert Shobe, expressed frustration with the process. He has described the smell from the plant as metallic and said it has made it difficult to be outside.
"This is not enough time for anything to be transparent," he said.
On Thursday, Shobe raised concerns to the Free Press about the way the monitoring was done, noting that the location of the equipment is not close to his neighborhood. Shobe's house and yard are separated from the Mack plant's paint shop by a concrete wall. He said he does not trust assurances from Stellantis.
“You're studying the air three-quarters of a mile from where we live. I'm no scientist, but I'm no fool either,” Shobe said.
Complaints from residents have prompted action by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, which launched a half-dozen investigations and issued three violation notices. The agency has said it intends to assess an undetermined fine and implement a compliance plan.
Residents have gathered in protest over the situation and have filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. EPA against EGLE for its permitting process, which allowed the company to offset increased emissions in Detroit with less emissions at its Warren Truck Assembly in Macomb County.
Public officials including state Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit; Council member-elect Latisha Johnson, who will represent the area where the plant is located, and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, made comments during the meeting.
Tlaib and Ron Stallworth, Stellantis' external affairs lead for Wayne County, had a testy exchange.
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Tlaib complained about the amount of information presented to residents from both the city and the company, more than 80 slides, and the length of the meeting. She suggested the meetings be done quarterly.
"It's ridiculous that you're allowing our residents to be on here for two hours before opening it up to questions," Tlaib said.
Stallworth said the company does respect residents' time, but he said the company is in a difficult situation because if it provides less information then some people would want more.
“If there's a magic number, I'd certainly like to know it," he said.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Stellantis: Mack plant odors not health risk, ducting issue to be fixed
