A Fortune 500 manufacturer based in Pennsylvania has recently settled with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly violating the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Emergency Planning Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
Avantor Performance Materials, LLC, a global provider of products and services to health care, education, biopharma and technology industries according to its website, certified that it is in compliance with the TSCA and EPCRA as of Dec. 20, an EPA press release said.
“Complying with these reporting requirements and the mercury export ban is an essential part of protecting public health, the environment, and emergency preparedness,” Larry Starfield, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in the release.
The settlement resolves allegations that Avantor failed to report 17 processed chemical substances at its Phillipsburg, New Jersey facility by the due date of July 1, 2016, the release said. A further 29 chemical substances imported for commercial purposes at the Phillipsburg and Paris, Kentucky facilities were allegedly not reported by the due date of Oct. 31, 2016.
The company also allegedly violated the Mercury Export Ban Act (MEBA) by exporting between one and two pounds of elemental mercury from its Paris facility between Oct. 1, 2014, and May 29, 2018, the release said. MEBA has been in effect since October 2008, aimed at reducing the presence of mercury in global markets.
As part of the settlement, Avantor agreed to pay $600,000 in civil penalties and discontinue exports of elemental mercury, the release said.
