Lena Residents Speak About Ethanol Plant in Their Town
By: Import User
Updated: March 1, 2007
Lena, Illinois- The Adkins ethanol plant in Lena went online in August 2002. After a few weeks, residents noticed an increase in the smoke, haze and smell in their community.
"I had some neighbors that were afraid to go outside in the summertime, because when the wind blew in their direction, they felt it bothered them," says Donna Fullmer, a Lena resident.
The problems sparked a series of lawsuits.
"The studies they came out and did, proved there was an abundant amount of pollution being put into the air," says Mark Busch of Lena.
Adkins Energy officials made some repairs to the plant to limit the pollution being emmitted. It`s been a couple of years since the problems at the Lena plant were fixed. And since then, residents WTVO talked with say they haven`t had any complaints.
"It smells like burning corn, but it doesn`t have a chemical smell like it did before," says Fullmer.
"A new drying system has been installed, all the problems have been solved," says Dennis Bergman. "They`re meeting the new E.P.A. standards and everything is going great."
