Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Tuesday, May 13, 2008
American Crystal Sugar reducing odor at Moorhead factory
MOORHEAD, Minn. — Officials at American Crystal Sugar say they’re taking steps to reduce the odor wafting from the factory in Moorhead.
One change has been adapting technology used to freeze hockey rinks to minimize the smell.
The company has made the changes after the Moorhead area was hit with a skunk-like smell for several days in May 2007.
American Crystal has covered its last-to-be-processed outdoor beet pile with a freezing mat and replaced straw on the wastewater pond with a cover that better holds in odors.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has said spoiling beets and heavy winds that blew straw off a wastewater storage pond contributed to the stench last year.
Factory officials say the company isn’t making any promises, but the actions so far are working.
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