Foxconn: About to become a big polluter

Sustainable development meets the needs of this generation without compromising the opportunity of future generations. Historically, humanity has given little thought to sustainability because Earth seemed to offer an endless supply of food, water, and resources. But an increasing population and technological power have encroached on nature, and we are facing enormous environmental problems.

The Foxconn deal follows our current path toward environmental degradation. It was pushed through state government with the explicit intention of ignoring environmental concerns. Most egregious, the company was permitted to bypass filing an environmental impact statement. In its absence, here are some pressing issues about the factory under construction in rural Racine County.

The project will take out of production and destroy some of the best farmland in Wisconsin at a time when feeding the world’s burgeoning population is becoming increasingly problematic. This will be an irreversible transformation; once subjected to intense industrial-chemical use, the land cannot be reclaimed for farming.

The facility depends on diverting millions of gallons water each day from Lake Michigan. The site lies outside the Lake Michigan watershed and alone cannot obtain lake water according to the international law (Great Lakes Compact) that was created to protect and regulate access to Great Lakes water. Racine County is attempting to break the compact for short-term economic gain. Should it succeed, the precedent will open the Great Lakes to the wholesale diversion of water and environmental loss.

To produce flat screen monitors, many chemicals must be utilized. In the process, the plant will emit many pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), particulates, carbon monoxide and greenhouse gases. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, the factory will be designated a “major source” polluter of each of these contaminants. This stew of emissions makes Foxconn a uniquely troubling operation. Nitrogen oxides and VOCs combine in sunlight to produce harmful ozone; carbon monoxide prolongs its lifetime in the atmosphere. Racine County is already a nonattainment area for ozone. In addition, particulates are important contributors to dangerous lung and cardiovascular diseases. Is there a health concern? Yes. Children in a number of nearby Racine and Kenosha schools are in the path of these pollutants.

Foxconn also will be a “major source” polluter of greenhouse gases, emitting more than 10 times the amount that triggers this designation. Foxconn could have addressed its huge release of greenhouse gases with onsite installation and off-site investment in renewable energy generation.

The problems are compounded by Foxconn’s rural location. Miles from water, electricity, and adequate transportation, all this infrastructure must be specially constructed for the company. Everyone and everything must travel many miles along the expanded lanes of I-94 to reach the facility, with their vehicles emitting tons of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. The thought of integrating rail mass transit into the project was not considered.

The Foxconn project is billed as transformational for Wisconsin’s economy. But by 21st century environmental standards, it is out of date. The company announced that it will sponsor a contest to envision the future of “smart cities.” Another competition to plan an environmentally sound Foxconn would have been welcome.

David H. Petering is university distinguished professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.