An Earth City, Mo. polyurethane producer will pay a civil penalty and make a donation to a local fire department to settle alleged violations of federal clean-air rules, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced.
Foam Supplies Inc. (FSI) has been ordered to pay a $7,398 civil penalty and to purchase at least $35,500 in emergency response equipment to be donated to the Pattonville (Mo.) Fire Department, the EPA announced Jan. 4. The settlement resolves allegations by the EPA that FSI violated the federal Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Plan Rule (RMPR), according to the announcement.
FSI, which maintains more than 10,000 pounds of the regulated flammable substance methyl formate, "failed to comply with regulations intended to protect the surrounding community from accidental releases of regulated substances," the EPA reports in the announcement. "Alleged violations included failure to submit a risk management plan and implement a hazard assessment."
The RMPR requires facilities using regulated toxic and/or flammable substances to develop a risk-management plan that shows the steps taken to prevent an accident; identifies potential effects of a chemical accident; and gives detailed explanations of emergency response procedures, should an accident happen. The risk-management plans can provide important information to emergency responders in the event of a chemical accident in their community, the EPA reports.
"It is important that companies that handle dangerous chemicals comply with the safety requirements of the Clean Air Act," EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director David Cozad said in the announcement. "Through this enforcement action, Foam Supplies is now in compliance with those rules and local emergency responders have new equipment that will improve their ability to safely respond to chemical releases."
