Atofina to pay $1.9m penalty, invest $5.3m in US probe

11 January 2002 20:41  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--Atofina Chemicals has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.9m (Euro2.1m) and implement $5.3m worth of "significant pollution control measures" at its facilities in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday.

The settlement agreement, which is subject to a 30-day public comment period, concludes EPA's multi-state investigation of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based Atofina, a worldwide speciality chemicals company with 26 manufacturing facilities in the US.

At an estimated cost of $5.3m, EPA said Atofina (formerly known as Elf Atochem North America) has committed to implementing pollution control measures that will reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by approximately 2500 tonne/year and emissions of ozone-depleting substances by 750 tonne/year at facilities in Kentucky and Alabama.

VOCs are key contributors to ground-level ozone, or smog, which can aggravate respiratory problems. Emissions of ozone-depleting substances contribute to the reduction in tropospheric ozone, which protects the earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.

EPA said Atofina also will install a new storm water control system at its Houston, Texas facility and will undertake a supplemental project to improve a portion of the Montlimar Canal in Mobile, Alabama, which emphasis on erosion control and development of a greenway along the canal banks.

The consent decree resolves environmental claims brought against the company under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

By: Glenn Hess
+1 713 525 2653

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