I had someone ask me the other day, "What do you have against ethanol?"

Well, I have nothing against ethanol. I just don't want them to make it in my back yard. I read that they will be storing anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia and sulfuric acid on-site. I did a little research on these chemicals and found out that ammonia is a colorless gas with a pungent, suffocating odor and is used to produce explosives (which we already have at Letterkenny) among some other more useful things.

Exposure to ammonia can cause a list of ailments: swelling of larynx, spasm of glottis, asphyxia, severe pulmonary and gastrointestinal irritation, convulsions, coma and death.

Sulfuric acid is a clear, colorless and odorless liquid. It's the stuff that is in your car battery and also used in phosphate fertilizer production. It is very corrosive. It can be found in the air as small droplets or can be attached to other small particles in the air. Concentrated sulfuric acid can catch fire or explode when it comes into contact with many chemicals. Breathing small droplets of sulfuric acid that may be in polluted air may make it more difficult to breathe. Inhalation, ingestion or contact with the skin can cause pulmonary edema, bronchitis, emphysema, conjunctivitis, stomatis, tracheobronchitis and dermatitis.

The CASD has land that is approximately one-fourth mile from the proposed site of the ethanol plant. Now it just doesn't seem right that we don't want our kids to do anything like smoke, drink, do drugs but we put them in harm's way by having their baseball and soccer fields close to a plant. If there were an accident, it would wipe them all out at once and all the people within a two-mile radius — which by the way, also includes three elementary schools.

Does anyone believe they could evacuate all of these schools and homes in time so that no one would be harmed? I don't.

Accidents happen all the time. Trains, planes, cars and factories have accidents all the time. It happens.

Approximately 200 large trucks transporting gasoline, raw chemicals, ethanol and other distillery byproducts would be coming and going from the plant daily. Do you want these trucks passing your house every day?

Every 16 minutes there is an accident involving an 18-wheeler. In 2002, 434,000 18-wheelers were involved in traffic accidents in the U.S. With 200 going in and out of the Cumberland Valley Business Park each day, the odds are pretty good that accidents will happen.

I say let them make ethanol somewhere out in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere, that if there was an accident, it wouldn't hurt so many people. Oh, it will cost them more dollars to make it, but human lives and health are worth more.

My family and I have lived in beautiful Greene Township more than 20 years. The ethanol plant placed in the CVBP will surely disrupt the lives of the citizens of our entire community forever more. We cannot afford even one small accident, not to mention that long-term effects of exposure to the emissions are really unknown. We have entrusted our elected officials with handling the affairs of the township. Along with that comes their responsibility to do everything possible to keep us safe.

I ask you now to please continue to look after our best interests. Let's keep Greene Township green and put a halt to this insanity while we still can.

Grace Hawley

Chambersburg