News! Pentachlorphenol

Gulbrandsen Chemical Co. officially announced the company will not make pentachlorophenol at its Orangeburg, South Carolina plant, see news release below:

https://thetandd.com/news/local/gulbrandsen-won-t-make-controversial-wood- preservative-at-orangeburg-plant/article_6c1165c2-713f-5144-8c00-fda458400660.html

In February, the company reported it was entering the penta market. Gulbrandsen President Eric Smith reviewed the company’s plans at the SPTA and WWPI membership meeting last month.   Since it declared plans to make penta, the company has come under increased scrutiny and political pressure. Last week, two South Carolina legislators issued a joint resolution to place a moratorium on any penta production at the Orangeburg site through July 2021. Activists like Beyond Pesticide also rallied against the plan, citing the Stockholm Convention that led to penta being banned in some 150 countries except the U.S. and Canada.   In today’s announcement, Smith from Gulbrandsen said pulling out the project was a business decision, but political and community concerns played a part. The company this week met with the South Carolina Dept. of Health and Environmental Control to discuss permitting for penta production, but got considerable pushback. The agency “could not assure me a timeline for the project that would fit the deadline we had for starting the plant,” said Smith.   Smith told SPTA the company currently makes two-thirds of the chemistry needed for penta production and said they are willing to work with an outside source to aid in manufacturing. KMG Chemicals remains the sole supplier of penta in the North American market and last winter announced it would halt production at its Mexico and Alabama plants at the end of 2021.