Settlements agreed for NH3 safety breaches

USA: Two companies in northwest USA have agreed to settle with the EPA for contravening ammonia safety legislation.

Dickinson Frozen Foods of Sugar City, Idaho, agreed to pay a penalty of  $20,150 for violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), which requires companies to immediately report unregulated ammonia releases that exceed 100lbs (45kg)

It was stated that on February 15, last year, the company released 500lbs (227kg) of anhydrous ammonia and failed to immediately notify federal and state authorities.

In a separate incident, Apple King of Yakima, Washington, has settled with the EPA for violations of Section 312 of the EPCRA for failing to file its annual Tier II Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reports for four years for anhydrous ammonia at its facility.

EPCRA Section 312 requires companies to file a hazardous chemical inventory report form with the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the local Fire Department each year by March 1st. The company agreed to pay a penalty of $65,709.91.