What operations at the Fort Bragg Mill Site could have generated dioxins and at what levels?
The largest potential source of dioxins, as is true for almost any industrial facility, would be the power boilers. For most of the mill’s operational history, only redwood bark was burned in its boilers. This type of burning usually results in relatively low dioxin levels that are similar to those from ambient man-made and natural sources. The majority of the ash sampled on the property was tested on numerous occasions, and the results confirmed relatively low dioxin levels consistent with other natural sources and not above levels of concern. To generate additional power for the State’s grid during California’s power crisis, in 2001 and 2002 Georgia-Pacific did burn some municipal wood waste, such as demolition debris from buildings and houses sourced from landfills in the San Francisco Bay area, in its boiler. Combustion of this municipal wood waste resulted in different dioxin compounds than those that would be formed during the burning of redwood bark, and contributed higher conce
