<< Back 9/4/02 Blue Ridge Paper begins NOx reductions SMN Blue Ridge Paper Products has launched a major environmental project to improve air quality by substantially reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions at its Canton Pulp and Paper Mill. The company will invest about $14 million to upgrade four power boilers that are used to generate steam and electricity for the pulp and papermaking process. The upgrades will reduce NOx emissions from the plant year round. NOx emissions contribute to the formation of ground level ozone. The North Carolina Division of Air Quality has identified ground level ozone as a health problem particularly among children, people with asthma and other respiratory ailments and anyone who works or exercises vigorously outdoors. Phase I of the project will be completed in October. The entire project will be implemented over a three-year period. A combination of selective non-catalytic reduction and low NOx burner technology will be used to achieve a reduction of 2,000 tons of nitrogen oxides annually. “This project is one of the largest capital investments that Blue Ridge will make over the next three years. Project implementation begins well in advance of the regulations and it will benefit air quality by reducing NOx emissions all year, not just during the ozone season,” said Bob Williams, director of Regulatory Affairs for Blue Ridge Paper Products. In 2004, North Carolina will require industries to reduce NOx emissions during what’s called the “ozone season.” The ozone season runs from May 1 to Sept. 31. After public notice and review, the North Carolina Division of Air Quality has issued a permit to construct and operate the new technology. Blue Ridge Paper Products Inc. produces envelopes and specialty papers and coated bleached board for food service packaging. Blue Ridge has eight plants in seven states, including a pulp and paper mill in Canton, an extrusion coating plant in Waynesville, and six DairyPak converting plants in Athens, Ga.; Clinton, Iowa; Fort Worth, Texas; Morristown, N.J.; Olmsted Falls, Ohio; and Richmond, VA.