Rockwool is not bad (except that the batts and boards contain formaldehyde, like plywood). Its insulation is a bit better insulation than fiberglass, and made similarly. In our buildings, in the long run, the insulation reduces our need for fossil fuels. However, Rockwool’s new plant will emit a quarter-ton of CO2, plus an eighth-ton of carbon monoxide, for every ton of rockwool that Rockwool makes. And the plant ought to filter out most of its tiny particulates.

This is West Virginia, so we should be skeptical about pollution-enforcement. Will the plant maintain its dust filters? Will its curing ovens even have the afterburners to reduce their VOC emissions? That information has been redacted from their permit paperwork; it’s proprietary. Rockwool says it looks forward to the day when they can use formaldehyde-free binders, but will it, ever?

And enacting the whole project in secret is outrageous. Just for that, the people involved in this conspiracy should be removed from office, and the whole project should be shut down, even if it would only emit bubbles.

With the tax incentives they were given, we ought to be able to get a good solar-cell plant, instead.

Brad Toole, of Shepherdstown