Scientists from across Country Lending Expertise to AltEn Study

by Chris Dunker (Lincoln Journal Star) Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey have joined the expanding research effort at AltEn to better understand how pesticides used widely in seed treatments move across the landscape.

The results of the study could inform new laws or help guide future cleanup efforts of the AltEn site, said Brenda Densmore, an associate director of hydrological studies at the Nebraska Water Science Center, a USGS office located in Lincoln.

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AltEn, which opened in 2015, was forced to close by the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy in 2021 following mounting violations of state environmental regulations.

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The former biofuel plant used seeds coated in neonicotinoids — a class of pesticides similar to nicotine that overstimulate insects’ nervous systems, leading to their death — to produce ethanol, which in turn left behind toxic solid and liquid waste.

Since the shutdown, focus has turned to cleaning up the stockpiles of waste at the site just south of Mead — a task taken on by six seed industry companies that formerly used AltEn to dispose of unplanted seeds — as well as determining how far chemicals from the plant have traveled off-site.
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That work will continue for at least one more year with a $1 million appropriation from the Legislature.

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Meanwhile, similar to the study being conducted by NU, the USGS is also seeking to gain understanding about the role AltEn may play in human health.

Paul Bradley, a research ecologist and hydrologist based in Columbia, South Carolina, said part of USGS’s mission is to “support decision makers and public health researchers” in understanding how exposure to potential contaminants leads to adverse health outcomes in humans.

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“This is the Midwest — there’s lots of corn and soy — so just because you detect pesticides that are indicative of a seed coating, it could be from some other use than the plants,” Hladik (Michelle Hladik, a research chemist at the California Water Science Center in Sacramento) said.

So it’s important that the scientists take their time to get the right data to place it in the right context, she added, and “follow the science where it leads.”

That can make for a time-consuming process, Densmore (Brenda Densmore, an associate director of hydrological studies at the Nebraska Water Science Center) said, which can be stressful when there is potentially an adverse human health effect.

While the data will ultimately be compiled and shared publicly, USGS will be in communication with residents about the results, she said.

“If we do see results come across our desks that are above some sort of human health standard, or some sort of standard set by federal agencies or local agencies, then we’ll reach out and contact those people,” Densmore said. READ MORE

I am terrified' — AltEn study finds pesticides in Mead woman's home (Lincoln Journal Star)

AltEn Cleanup Ongoing, Lawsuit Slows -- More Than 10,000 Tons of Wet Cake to Be Removed at Nebraska Ethanol Plant (DTN Progressive Farmer)

AltEn research team shares preliminary findings, promises further study (Lincoln Journal Star)