Martin Butt on sat 15 jan 00
A Ceramics Professor at the University of New Mexico asked me to post a
message to Clayart to see if anyone has experence that might be helpful in
keeping a beautiful Anagama wood kiln from being shut down by the New Mexico
Environmental Division. Although this kiln was built under the auspices of
UNM, it was very much a community project; with tons of volunteer labor,
donations of materials by the local ceramic supply companies (Ceramic King
and Santa Fe Clay), as well as donations from many other companies and
studios. At any rate, it is a wonderful resource for New Mexico potters, and
it would be a shame to lose it because of our lack of skill in satisfying the
regulatory authorities.
To this point, the kiln has been given a firing by firing exemption, but at
each request this approach seems more and more doubtful. As I understand it,
to receive a more permanant variance we need to convince the Environmental
Division that: 1. the kiln is a valuable community resource that deserves
some consideration for a variance, and 2. the kiln is not a major source of
pollution.
This kiln takes about six cords of wood to fire over the course of four or
five days, not much visible smoke (except during reduction and heavy stoking
at the end), holds between six and seven hundred pieces.
If anyone has been down this road before, or knows anything that might help,
please let me know!
Thanks,
Martin Butt
Studio Director, Coyote Clay School
Albuquerque, NM
Martinb888@AOL.com
John Rodgers on mon 17 jan 00
Martin,
I was living in NM when this was being built but was much to tied up with work t
partcipate, though I wanted to very much.
Just a few thoughts:
I would suggest getting a petition going immediately to try and demonstrate the
community interest in this project. Also, try and find any industrial operations
in NM and compare - if possible - the total volume of chimney output between
industry and the anagama. Industry records should be available, possibly through
the NM Environmental division itself. It might be possible to bring to the
attention of the NME the value of this kiln as an educational demonstration unit
since it is not fired on a regular basis as a commercial kiln would be.
Hope this helps!
John Rodgers
Birmingham, AL
Martin Butt wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> A Ceramics Professor at the University of New Mexico asked me to post a
> message to Clayart to see if anyone has experence that might be helpful in
> keeping a beautiful Anagama wood kiln from being shut down by the New Mexico
> Environmental Division. Although this kiln was built under the auspices of
> UNM, it was very much a community project; with tons of volunteer labor,
> donations of materials by the local ceramic supply companies (Ceramic King
> and Santa Fe Clay), as well as donations from many other companies and
> studios. At any rate, it is a wonderful resource for New Mexico potters, and
> it would be a shame to lose it because of our lack of skill in satisfying the
> regulatory authorities.
> To this point, the kiln has been given a firing by firing exemption, but at
> each request this approach seems more and more doubtful. As I understand it,
> to receive a more permanant variance we need to convince the Environmental
> Division that: 1. the kiln is a valuable community resource that deserves
> some consideration for a variance, and 2. the kiln is not a major source of
> pollution.
> This kiln takes about six cords of wood to fire over the course of four or
> five days, not much visible smoke (except during reduction and heavy stoking
> at the end), holds between six and seven hundred pieces.
> If anyone has been down this road before, or knows anything that might help,
> please let me know!
> Thanks,
> Martin Butt
> Studio Director, Coyote Clay School
> Albuquerque, NM
> Martinb888@AOL.com
Lori Wilkinson on mon 17 jan 00
-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Butt
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2000 7:48 PM
Subject: Wood kiln in danger of being shut down by EPA; Help!
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>A Ceramics Professor at the University of New Mexico asked me to post a
>message to Clayart to see if anyone has experence that might be helpful in
>keeping a beautiful Anagama wood kiln from being shut down by the New
Mexico
>Environmental Division. Although this kiln was built under the auspices of
>UNM, it was very much a community project; with tons of volunteer labor,
>donations of materials by the local ceramic supply companies (Ceramic King
>and Santa Fe Clay), as well as donations from many other companies and
>studios. At any rate, it is a wonderful resource for New Mexico potters,
and
>it would be a shame to lose it because of our lack of skill in satisfying
the
>regulatory authorities.
>To this point, the kiln has been given a firing by firing exemption, but at
>each request this approach seems more and more doubtful. As I understand
it,
>to receive a more permanant variance we need to convince the Environmental
>Division that: 1. the kiln is a valuable community resource that deserves
>some consideration for a variance, and 2. the kiln is not a major source
of
>pollution.
>This kiln takes about six cords of wood to fire over the course of four or
>five days, not much visible smoke (except during reduction and heavy
stoking
>at the end), holds between six and seven hundred pieces.
>If anyone has been down this road before, or knows anything that might
help,
>please let me know!
>Thanks,
>Martin Butt
>Studio Director, Coyote Clay School
>Albuquerque, NM
>Martinb888@AOL.com
Martin, because of where Albuquerque is situated and air polution, doesn't
the city strongly enforce burn and no burn days with hefty fines for homes
with fireplaces that don't head the "no burn notice" ? I would imagine if
there were a no burn day or night and you were in the middle of a firing,
that could cause a real problem. Good Luck.
>
Mike Gordon on mon 17 jan 00
Look into some kind of scrubber for the stack.I've seen them advertised
for wood burning stoves. Mike
Tom Wirt on mon 17 jan 00
Subject: Wood kiln in danger of being shut down by EPA; Help!
> This kiln takes about six cords of wood to fire over the course of four or
> five days, not much visible smoke (except during reduction and heavy
stoking
> at the end), holds between six and seven hundred pieces.
> If anyone has been down this road before, or knows anything that might
help,
> please let me know!
> Thanks,
> Martin Butt
Martin,
I'll relate a story told to me by Richard Bresnahan who fires wood at St.
John's University in Collegeville MN. While he was apprenticing in Japan,
supposedly the Japanese governement was trying to shut down a wood kiln near
where he was. As part of the testing, a team of engineers from a nearby
Toyota factory were hired to test for pollution emitted by the kiln. They
measured the air going in for all pollutants including heavy metals,
sulfides, carbon, etc. They measured the effluent for the same.
The net was that the air was cleaner going out of the kiln, even with the
smoke, than the air going in. Apparently the charcoal scrubbed some of the
pollutants and the rest were trapped on the surfaces of the pots as
colorants. The visible smoke was the smallest part and least damaging of
the whole process.
Don't know how true or accurate the detail of my telling, but you could
contact Richard by calling him at 320-363-2930. The point of the story, I
would think the EPA would/should have to prove its allegations of pollution
by some thorough testing over the span of a firing. And while the smoke
seems to be the pollutant, the most important part may be invisible.
I remember living in Denver for 6 years where the claim was that the "brown
cloud" caused heavily by the high carbon emissions from planes and trucks
was not the dangerous part of the pollution. That the danger was from the
nitrous oxides from the automobiles. 'course the truckers had a strong
lobby and the individual motorist did not.
And when all is said and done, is the amount of pollution coming from this
kiln a significant percent of the state's pollution? Don't they have
bigger fish to fry? And involve the local press.....it's a good story and
government agenicies don't like to operate in public.
Tom Wirt
Embroiled in my own version of government involvement here in McLeod County
MN.
Christopher Greenman on mon 17 jan 00
Martin,
Look through the clay art archieves for info. I think that John Baymore
listed something extensive on the subject about a year and a half ago. John
is on clayart and may respond to you directly. Can't think of his e-mail
off-hand.
GOOD LUCK
Chris
kelldogn@aol.com
Gari Whelon on mon 17 jan 00
Hi Martin
This is Deja Vu all over again.
If you look back in the archives about 3 years ago, you might find the
responses we got from our call for help when the Tozan kilns (Noborigama and
Anagama) were threatened with closure.
There is also an article in Ceramics Monthly from ...a few years back which
talked about a college wood kiln in ?Illinois? I can't find the article but
if I come across it I'll let you know
We are still firing and seem to have a decent relationship with our new
contacts at environment but we never really know how long we'll be able to
continue.
Our big problem definitely was black smoke and discharge. Our permit calls
for no more than 20% opacity and that is only allowed for 3 minutes out of
an hour. (basically you have to site an object through the plume and it has
to remain visible within those guidelines. frankly, that is just impossible
to reach. We've had to install a crematorium burner in the chimney to
assist in burning off the emissions, we actually melted the horizontal
chimney with it until we replaced that with some cone forty bricks in
strategic spots.
We've been trying a few short firings, organizing to coincide with outside
burning permitted times and we are even looking at approaching a local
sawmill to see about taking and burning some of their slash or waste and
thereby using their burn permit...I'm not saying that's going to work.
The most effective and necessary work is political, getting the city and
Provincial mandarins informed and educated and letting them advocate for us,
similarly the local people and chamber of commerce, tourism etc. When we
open the kiln we advertise and invite the public, when people come up during
a firing we show them what we're doing, make sure we have some sample pots
from prior firings around, educate them and get them on side as supporters.
Feel free to keep in touch, and keep up the good fight.
Gari Whelon
Proletariat Pots
Nanaimo, B.C.
whelon@island.net
John K Dellow on mon 17 jan 00
Martin , your professor needs to research after burners . I first
saw one on a bezen kiln in the Imba prefecture ceramic research
institute back in 1981.
Think of a hood over the exit flue / chimney with a box at
the top of the hood and then a metal flue. A gas burner is used
to keep the collection box at red heat or above . Secondary is
drawn in around the chimney and mixed with the exit gasses from
the kiln and burnt .
He also needs to research the pollution guide lines that are
being applied by the New Mexico authorities. My clay manufacture
also makes terra-cotta planters in a big way . He had to have an
environmental studies done on his oil fired 1000 cu.ft kilns. The
results showed a pollution rate of .001% of the allowable rate
for an oil fired power station !.
Martin Butt wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> A Ceramics Professor at the University of New Mexico asked me to post a
> message to Clayart to see if anyone has experence that might be helpful in
> keeping a beautiful Anagama wood kiln from being shut down by the New Mexico
> Environmental Division. Although this kiln was built under the auspices of
> UNM, it was very much a community project; with tons of volunteer labor,
> donations of materials by the local ceramic supply companies (Ceramic King
> and Santa Fe Clay), as well as donations from many other companies and
> studios. At any rate, it is a wonderful resource for New Mexico potters, and
> it would be a shame to lose it because of our lack of skill in satisfying the
> regulatory authorities.
> To this point, the kiln has been given a firing by firing exemption, but at
> each request this approach seems more and more doubtful. As I understand it,
> to receive a more permanant variance we need to convince the Environmental
> Division that: 1. the kiln is a valuable community resource that deserves
> some consideration for a variance, and 2. the kiln is not a major source of
> pollution.
> This kiln takes about six cords of wood to fire over the course of four or
> five days, not much visible smoke (except during reduction and heavy stoking
> at the end), holds between six and seven hundred pieces.
> If anyone has been down this road before, or knows anything that might help,
> please let me know!
> Thanks,
> Martin Butt
> Studio Director, Coyote Clay School
> Albuquerque, NM
> Martinb888@AOL.com
--
John Dellow "the flower pot man"
Home Page http://www.welcome.to/jkdellow
http://digitalfire.com/education/people/dellow/
martin howard on wed 19 jan 00
As a just retired Town Planning Officer who has done about 2000 Planning
Inquiries in his time, perhaps my GB experience might have some bearing on
this case.
The most likely ground on which the local planners will give way and keep
this kiln going is if it can be proved to be worthy of Listing as a Building
of Architectural and Historic Interest. Has Mexico City got any sort of
Listing of this nature? I would assume so, with its great archaeological
history, especially around that city.
Secondly, would the building and its use be of real interest to Tourism?
This is of course an economic argument and hard hitting.
The big anti argument is the amount of air pollution produced, so that it is
necessary to really prove that it produces less than surrounding uses and
the cars in the streets around it.
Martin Howard (past member of Royal Town Planning Institute)
Webb's Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road
Great Saling
BRAINTREE
Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
www.webbscottage.co.uk Should be ready for 2000 :-) or 2001.
Earl Brunner on thu 20 jan 00
Seems to me that the scrubber, secondary combustion chamber between the kiln and
the stack really has some potential. Look at ways to meet them. Show them that
you are willing to try and reduce emissions.
>From John Dellow in Australia:
Martin , your professor needs to research after burners . I first
saw one on a bezen kiln in the Imba prefecture ceramic research
institute back in 1981.
Think of a hood over the exit flue / chimney with a box at
the top of the hood and then a metal flue. A gas burner is used
to keep the collection box at red heat or above . Secondary is
drawn in around the chimney and mixed with the exit gasses from
the kiln and burnt .
He also needs to research the pollution guide lines that are
being applied by the New Mexico authorities. My clay manufacture
also makes terra-cotta planters in a big way . He had to have an
environmental studies done on his oil fired 1000 cu.ft kilns. The
results showed a pollution rate of .001% of the allowable rate
for an oil fired power station !.
martin howard wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> As a just retired Town Planning Officer who has done about 2000 Planning
> Inquiries in his time, perhaps my GB experience might have some bearing on
> this case.
> The most likely ground on which the local planners will give way and keep
> this kiln going is if it can be proved to be worthy of Listing as a Building
> of Architectural and Historic Interest. Has Mexico City got any sort of
> Listing of this nature? I would assume so, with its great archaeological
> history, especially around that city.
>
> Secondly, would the building and its use be of real interest to Tourism?
> This is of course an economic argument and hard hitting.
>
> The big anti argument is the amount of air pollution produced, so that it is
> necessary to really prove that it produces less than surrounding uses and
> the cars in the streets around it.
>
> Martin Howard (past member of Royal Town Planning Institute)
> Webb's Cottage Pottery
> Woolpits Road
> Great Saling
> BRAINTREE
> Essex CM7 5DZ
> 01371 850 423
> martin@webbscottage.co.uk
> www.webbscottage.co.uk Should be ready for 2000 :-) or 2001.
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec
mailto:bruec@anv.net
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