I would not want to live anywhere near that plant!  "The plant is permitted to release up to 208 tons of hexane per year." Hexane is supposedly relatively safe?
The Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a toxic pollutant

Hexane /ˈhɛkseɪn/ is an alkane of six carbon atoms, with the chemical formula C6H14.The term may refer to any of the five structural isomers with that formula, or to a mixture of them.[4] In IUPAC nomenclature, however, hexane is the unbranched isomer (n-hexane); the other four isomers are named as methylated derivatives of pentane and butane. IUPAC also uses the term as the root of many compounds with a linear six-carbon backbone, such as 2-methylhexane (C7H16), which is also called "isoheptane".Hexanes are significant constituents of gasoline. They are all colorless liquids at room temperature, odorless when pure, with boiling points between 50 and 70 °C. They are widely used as cheap, relatively safe, largely unreactive, and easily evaporated non-polar solvents.


What the Perdue soybean plant means for York County

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection green-lighted Perdue's plan to build the facility in Lancaster County.http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2016/05/09/what-perdue-soybean-plant-means-york-county/84132922/

Perdue AgriBusiness has passed a major hurdle in its effort to build a soybean processing plant that some in York County have opposed.The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection green-lighted Perdue's plan to build the facility in Conoy Township, Lancaster Township on May 6. That approval puts a light at the end of the tunnel for the company, which first applied to build the plant in August 2012.

With the soybean facility one step closer to becoming a reality, here's a look at what it could mean for the region.JobsPerdue will hire about 35 full-time workers to run the plant, said Julie DeYoung, a Perdue spokeswoman. Jobs will include both hourly and salaried positions, DeYoung said. Hiring should begin next summer, she said.The $60 million project will also require about 150 construction workers, a Perdue news release states. In addition, the plant could add about 500 area jobs in crop production and transportation, the news release states.

The plant will be located in Pennsylvania's largest soybean-growing region and will allow area farmers to sell soybeans locally for processing, rather than shipping them out of state, according to the news release. That also means the processed soybeans, used for livestock feed, won't have to travel as far to get to area livestock farmers.

PollutionTo process the soybeans into livestock feed, the plant will use commercial hexane, which the Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a toxic pollutant.Hexane could travel downwind from the facility in Conoy Township, affecting the air in parts of York County, according to Warren Evans, a retired biochemist from York County. Hexane can contribute to problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, he said.The plant is permitted to release up to 208 tons of hexane per year, said DEP Secretary John Quigley. Leak detection and repairs will be required to keep hexane leaks at a minimum, and four areas where hexane gas will be emitted will have strict monitoring requirements, Quigley said.Perdue must also buy 257 tons of emissions credits from somewhere else in Pennsylvania, in accordance with federal environmental rules, the DEP's plan approval states.

 Opposition Those steps weren't enough for Evans, who said the plant will harm public health. Evans pointed to a recent air quality study that gave Lancaster and York counties failing grades from the American Lung Association.Evans has led the effort, along with Citizens Against Perdue Pollution and the former Hellam Township board of supervisors, to get Perdue to install devices at the plant that would prevent hexane from getting into the air. However, the DEP didn't require Perdue to install the devices.Hexane is flammable, and the plant will house two 20,000 gallon tanks of it, the DEP approval plan states. Both Perdue and the DEP have said the environmental devices [url=http://Perdue%20and%20the%20DEP%20have%20said%20the%20devices%20would%20pose%20safety%20risks%20at%20the%20plant,%20though%20some%20in%20the%20industry%20have%20disagreed.]would pose safety risks at the plant[/url], though some in the industry have disagreed."We kicked those tires very thoroughly," Quigley said. "As explained to me by staff, there was an explosion hazard in the plant."The public has 30 days to appeal the decision, Evans said, and he plans to meet with Citizens Against Perdue Pollution to decide what to do next.

The group may take the issue to the Environmental Hearing Board, Evans said. That board, also a state agency, handles many third-party cases that might have similarities to this one, said Christine Walker, acting board secretary.Depending on the findings, it's possible that a civil case with the Environmental Hearing Board could pause Perdue's plan, Walker said.

Construction Appeals aside, Perdue still has to complete its purchase of the 57-acre property from Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority before it can build. However there are no complications likely to come from that, DeYoung said. Perdue has already begun some minor excavations to the land at the site, according to the news release.Barring anything unforeseen, construction will begin in June, DeYoung said. The plant should be up and running by September 2017, the news release states.