In 1985 there was a proposal to construct a tire pyrolysis (tire burning) operation in the former Packerton Yards site in Mahoning Township.

The firm that proposed the plant had a similar operation at that time in Cochransville, Chester County, a predominant farming region with a population of 1,600 people just 15 miles north of the Maryland border.

I paid a visit to the Chester County site in 1985 and the scenario was sickening.

The Chester County operation had closed when I visited and the local residents were so angry at the company that they painted slogans such as “We Want Justice” and threats to corporate officials by name on the side of the lone building on the vacated site.

What really was disgusting was scattered over the 13-acre tire dump were millions of tires. A former employee estimated that there were at least six million of them.

A neighbor, Dorothy Hendrickson, told of a terrible odor often emitted when the plant had been in operation.

Less than three years after I visited, an immense fire broke out on the site. The fire burned for days and the thick, black, pungent smoke from it could be seen more than 50 miles away in Harrisburg.

The tire pyrolysis plant proposed in Packerton was thankfully never built.

Now a tire burning operation is being considered for the Panther Creek Power Operating site along Dennison Road in Nesquehoning.

The site, which currently burns coal culm to mine bitcoin, is snuggled in a clearing at the base of the picturesque Broad Mountain just a few thousand feet from Lake Hauto. The Broad Mountain is heavily wooded and a nature paradise housing deer, bear and countless other wildlife.

Access is via Route 54, a two-lane road.

An air pollution compliance form for the pyrolysis operation was filed with the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection on May 20, 2023. Applying is Panther Creek Power Operating LLC of Nesquehoning, the applicant; Liberty Bell Funding of Nesquehoning, parent of Panther Creek; OpCO of New York, parent of Liberty Bell; Falcon Power of Kinnerdell, PA, subsidiary of Liberty, and Scrubgrass Reclamation Company, Kennerdell, subsidiary of Falcon.

All the firms are incorporated in Delaware.

Unlike the plant that was proposed in Mahoning Township in 1985 - which was unrelated to this firm or application - the Nesquehoning site would burn shredded tires. The tires would be chopped into small chips before being trucked to the Panther Creek site.

These chips would still have to be stored on the premises if burned here. And like whole tires, tire chips are flammable.

Burning tires - chips or whole tires - are difficult to extinguish and create a lot of heat when they burn. There are videos on the Internet of the Cochransville fire as well as many other tire dump fires throughout the country.

The high heat production of tire rubber makes extinguishment very difficult. Tire fires yield large amounts of oil that are flammable and environmentally contaminating. Tire fires frequently become major hazardous materials (Hazmat) incidents affecting entire communities, often requiring neighborhood evacuations and protracted fire operations. These fires threaten pollution of the air, waterways, and water table.

In many states both tires and chips are banned in landfills because they are considered hazardous waste.

Owners of the firm might say they won’t store tire shreds on the site, but who will monitor it?

And if a tire fire breaks out and spreads to the Broad Mountain and pollutes Lake Hauto who would be held responsible? Panther Creek? Liberty Bell Funding? Scrubgrass? A fire on a windy day on the Broad Mountain could result in a lot of destruction.

It’s great to have an industry in the region and help the economy, create jobs and add to the tax base. However, with a tire pyrolysis plant, the negatives would far outweigh the positives.

Just ask the residents of Cochransville.

Ron Gower | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.