LA area polystyrene manufacturer Lifoam Industries pays $450,000 over violations of federal, state clean-air laws

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice and the South Coast Air Quality Management District announced that Lifoam Industries, Inc. will pay $450,000 in fines, claiming the company violated the federal Clean Air Act and state air quality laws at its polystyrene manufacturing facility at 2340 E. 52 Street in Vernon, Calif.

Under the terms of a settlement entered today in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Lifoam Industries is required to pay a $450,000 penalty and must vent all of its manufacturing emissions through an air pollution control device.
“The effects of illegal air pollution in the Los Angeles basin are insidious, and local residents suffer a disproportionate impact,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “To protect public health and the environment, we will vigilantly track down violators and bring them into compliance.”

“Since Southern California has the worst air pollution in the nation, for the sake of public health we must ensure that all businesses are operating in compliance with air quality regulations and doing their part to help improve our air,” said Barry Wallerstein, Executive Officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The city of Vernon is one of several densely populated communities closest to the I-710 Freeway, where the effects of pollution are disproportionately higher than in other areas of Los Angeles County. Approximately 1 million people, about 70% of whom are minority and low-income households, are severely impacted by pollution from industrial activities in the area and goods movement along the freeway.

Related Video:Every year, more than 6,000 Southern Californians die prematurely due to air pollution. This years smog season has not been as severe as previous years. However, the region still has the worst overall air quality in the nation. AQMDs Joe Cassmassi reports on this years smog season.

Federal, state and local regulatory agencies have formed an Enforcement Collaborative to focus resources over a multi-year effort to ensure that businesses and industries in this area are complying with environmental laws.U.S. EPA is joining forces with Cal/EPA, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Air Resources Board in the Enforcement Collaborative, which is partnering with other local government and non-profit organizations to improve environmental and public health conditions in these communities. Lifoam Industries manufactures expanded polystyrene foam products that contain pentane, a volatile organic compound that contributes to ozone pollution, or smog.

According to EPA, Lifoam Industries failed to ensure that the volatile organic compound emissions were less than 2.4 pounds of volatile organic compounds per 100 pounds of raw materials, a violation of the Clean Air Act. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which oversees air regulations in the Los Angeles Air Basin, allows polystyrene foam product manufacturers to meet this federally-enforceable emissions limit by using raw materials that release less volatile organic compounds or through the use of an adequate air pollution control device.

Both federal regulators and the South Coast Air Quality Management District also assert that Lifoam installed and operated air-pollution-emitting equipment without obtaining the necessary permits and that the facility did not properly vent volatile organic compounds to air pollution control equipment.

Volatile organic compounds react with other pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and, in the presence of sunlight, can form ozone, or smog. Smog can cause respiratory problems, including coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and chest pain. People with asthma, children and the elderly are especially at risk, but these health concerns are important to everyone.

City of Tacoma settles for nearly $525,000 for release of ozone-depleting gases

Related video: How chlorofluorocarbons deplete the ozone layer

 

The city of Tacoma will pay nearly $225,000 in penalties for the release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) stemming from its refrigerated appliance disposal service, according to a consent decree lodged by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The city will alsopay nearly $300,000 for new pollution-reduction projects in Tacoma. 
From October 2004 to August 2007, The City of Tacoma Solid Waste Management Division processed more than 14,600 appliances to recover refrigerants. Due to a flawed purging process, an estimated 4,600 pounds of refrigerant was released to the environment, according to the consent decree. The CFCs released in this case are equivalent to 32,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, or approximately 530,000 roundtrip commutes between Tacoma and Seattle.

The releases were a violation of the federal Clean Air Act, which prohibits the release of CFCs to the environment. CFC refrigerants are leading cause of ozone depletion, which contributes to climate change and has negative human health impacts, such as increasing  the risk of skin cancer.

“Every pound of CFCs that enters the environment is a blow to the Earth’s protective ozone layer and a setback in controlling climate change,” said Dennis McLerran, Regional Administrator for EPA Region 10. “We expect any facilities that handle refrigerants to have sound practices for recovery.”
The city has agreed to take corrective action and conduct additional monitoring beyond the regulations to ensure that it is recovering a maximum amount of refrigerant from the disposal process.

In addition to the penalty, the city will fund several projects worth nearly $300,000 to reduce air pollution in the Tacoma area. These projects will reduce green house gas emissions and particulate matter in the Tacoma area, which faces air quality challenges.

  These projects include:

• Replacement of one diesel waste collection truck from the city’s fleet of 50 with a truck powered by a hybrid technology that improves fuel efficiency
• Replacement of one terminal tractor at the city’s landfill facility with a hybrid-electric terminal tractor to reduce diesel emissions
• Retrofitting ten long haul diesel tractors with diesel particulate filters, which remove harmful particulate matter from diesel exhaust

EPA Proposal Cuts Pollution from Power Plants in 31 States and D.C.

Rule would reduce smog- and soot-forming emissions contributing to unhealthy air

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing regulations to cut air pollution that impairs air quality and harms the health of people living downwind. The regulation will target power plant pollution that drifts across the borders of 31 eastern states and the District of Columbia . Air pollution is linked to thousands of asthma cases and heart attacks, and almost 2 million lost school or work days. Along with local and state air pollution controls, the new proposal, called the transport rule, is designed to help areas in the eastern United States meet existing national air quality health standards. 

“This rule is designed to cut pollution that spreads hundreds of miles and has enormous negative impacts on millions of Americans,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re working to limit pollution at its source, rather than waiting for it to move across the country.  The reductions we’re proposing will save billions in health costs, help increase American educational and economic productivity, and — most importantly — save lives.” 

The transport rule would reduce power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) to meet state-by-state emission reductions. By 2014, the rule and other state and EPA actions would reduce SO₂ emissions by 71 percent over 2005 levels. NO_x emissions would drop by 52 percent. 

EPA is using the “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act to reduce interstate transport, which is the upwind state emissions that contribute to air quality problems in downwind states.  The proposed rule sets in place a new approach that can and will be applied again as further pollution reductions are needed to help areas meet air quality health standards. 

SO₂ and NO_x react in the atmosphere to form fine particle pollution and ground-level ozone (smog), which are linked to widespread illnesses and premature deaths. These pollutants are carried on the wind to other states, contributing to health problems for their residents and interfering with states’ ability to meet air quality standards. 

Today’s action would yield more than $120 billion in annual health benefits in 2014, including avoiding an estimated 14,000 to 36,000 premature deaths, 23,000 nonfatal heart attacks, 21,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 240,000 cases of aggravated asthma, and 1.9 million days when people miss school or work due to ozone- and particle pollution-related symptoms. These benefits would far outweigh the annual cost of compliance with the proposed rule, which EPA estimates at $2.8 billion in 2014. 

EPA expects that the emission reductions will be accomplished by proven and readily available pollution control technologies already in place at many power plants across the country. 

The transport rule also would help improve visibility in state and national parks and would increase protection for ecosystems that are sensitive to pollution, including streams in the Appalachians, lakes in the Adirondacks , estuaries and coastal waters, and red maple forests. 

The proposal would replace and improve upon the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered EPA to revise in 2008. The court allowed CAIR to remain in place temporarily while EPA works to finalize the replacement rule proposed today. 

EPA will take public comment on the proposal for 60 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The agency also will hold public hearings.  Dates and locations for the hearings will be announced shortly. 

More information: HTTP://www.epa.gov/airtransport

EPA Sets Stronger National Air Quality Standard for Sulfur Dioxide

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is issuing a final new health standard for sulfur dioxide (SO2). This one-hour health standard will protect millions of Americans from short-term exposure to SO2, which is primarily emitted from power plants and other industrial facilities. Exposure to SO2 can aggravate asthma and cause other respiratory difficulties. People with asthma, children, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the effects of SO2.

“We’re taking on an old problem in a new way, one designed to give all American communities the clean air protections they deserve. Moving to a one-hour standard and monitoring in the areas with the highest SO2 levels is the most efficient and effective way to protect against sulfur dioxide pollution in the air we breathe,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This is one of many pollutants we’ve been able to significantly reduce through the Clean Air Act, keeping people healthy, protecting our environment and growing our economy. This new standard — the first in almost 40 years — will ensure continued success in meeting these challenges.”

EPA is setting the one-hour SO2 health standard at 75 parts per billion (ppb), a level designed to protect against short-term exposures ranging from five minutes to 24 hours. EPA is revoking the current 24-hour and annual SO2 health standards because the science indicates that short-term exposures are of greatest concern and the existing standards would not provide additional health benefits.

EPA is also changing the monitoring requirements for SO2. The new requirements assure that monitors will be placed where SO2 emissions impact populated areas. Any new monitors required by this rule must begin operating no later than Jan. 1, 2013.  EPA is expecting to use modeling as well as monitoring to determine compliance with the new standard.

The final rule also changes the Air Quality Index to reflect the revised SO2 standard. This change will improve states’ ability to alert the public when short-term SO2 levels may affect their health.  

EPA estimates that the health benefits associated with this rule range between $13 billion and $33 billion annually. These benefits include preventing 2,300 to 5,900 premature deaths and 54,000 asthma attacks a year. The estimated cost in 2020 to fully implement this standard is approximately $1.5 billion.

The first National Ambient Air Quality Standards for SO2 were set in 1971, establishing both a primary standard to protect health and a secondary standard to protect the public welfare. Annual average SO2 concentrations have decreased by 71 percent since 1980.

The final rule addresses only the SO2 primary standards, which are designed to protect public health. EPA will address the secondary standard – designed to protect the public welfare, including the environment – as part of a separate review to be completed in 2012.

EPA expects to identify or designate areas not meeting the new standard by June 2012.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/air/sulfurdioxide

U.S. EPA determines Phoenix dust storms not solely responsible for poor air quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that it rejected Arizona’s claim that dust storms caused the high pollution readings in Phoenix in 2008, a decision which could have significant implications for the State.

Under the Clean Air Act, states must submit plans showing the EPA how the State will meet air quality standards for certain pollutants. Arizona is currently not meeting the national standard for particulate matter, PM-10 (one-seventh the width of a human hair). Major concerns for human health from exposure to PM-10 include: effects on breathing and respiratory systems, damage to lung tissue, cancer, and premature death. The elderly, children, and people with chronic lung disease, influenza, or asthma, are especially sensitive to the effects of particulate matter.

The State had asserted that dust storms were responsible for ten of the eleven unacceptably high pollution spikes in Phoenix during 2008.

“After thoroughly reviewing the State’s data, EPA air-quality scientists determined that a legally significant number of pollution spikes were not the result of regional dust storms,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA Regional Administrator. “Therefore, the “exceptional events” were not supported by the science,” added Blumenfeld.

This finding will require EPA to initiate disapproval of the State’s air quality control plan (PM-10) for Phoenix. If a final disapproval is rendered, federal transportation funds to the state could be frozen. In such a scenario, transportation funds would be withheld until the State submits an adequate air quality plan (PM-10) to EPA. The freeze would not affect current, approved transportation plans and projects.

“I want to acknowledge the collaborative work that ADEQ, the Maricopa Association of Governments, Maricopa County, and the City of Phoenix have done to address existing sources of PM-10,” said Blumenfeld. EPA is committed to continuing to provide the State, regional and local agencies technical expertise, monitoring equipment and funding to bring the State into compliance. The federal government already provides $30 million annually to Arizona, through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program. These funds are available to be used to reduce PM-10 emissions.

More U.S. EPA News releases

EPA Grants California GHG Waiver

WASHINGTON – EPA is granting California’s waiver request enabling the state to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions standards for new motor vehicles, beginning with the current model year. Using the law and science as its guide, EPA has taken this action to tackle air pollution and protect human health.

“This decision puts the law and science first. After review of the scientific findings, and another comprehensive round of public engagement, I have decided this is the appropriate course under the law,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “This waiver is consistent with the Clean Air Act as it’s been used for the last 40 years and supports the prerogatives of the 13 states and the District of Columbia who have opted to follow California’s lead. More importantly, this decision reinforces the historic agreement on nationwide emissions standards developed by a broad coalition of industry, government and environmental stakeholders earlier this year.”

The first California waiver request was made in December 2005 and was subsequently denied in March 2008. This previous decision was based on an interpretation of the Clean Air Act finding that California did not have a need for its greenhouse gas emission standards to meet “compelling and extraordinary conditions.”

Shortly after taking office in January, President Barack Obama directed EPA to assess the appropriateness of denying the waiver. EPA received a letter from California on January 21, 2009, raising several issues for Administrator Jackson to review regarding the denial.

Last month, President Obama announced a first-ever national policy aimed at both increasing fuel economy and reducing greenhouse gas pollution for all new cars and trucks sold in the United States. The new standards would cover model years 2012-2016. When the national program takes effect, California has committed to allowing automakers who show compliance with the national program to also be deemed in compliance with state requirements.

With the decision to grant the California waiver, EPA returns to its traditional legal interpretation of the Clean Air Act that has been applied consistently during the past 40 years. EPA finds that California continues to have a need for its motor vehicle emissions program, including the greenhouse gas standards. EPA also finds that the California program meets legal requirements regarding the protectiveness of public health and welfare as well as technological feasibility.

EPA based its decision on an extensive record of scientific and technical evidence. As part of the reconsideration, EPA revisited the prior decision documents and record. The agency also opened a new comment period, including public hearings.

The Clean Air Act gives EPA the authority to allow California to adopt its own emission standards for new motor vehicles due to the seriousness of the state’s air pollution challenges. There is a long-standing history of EPA granting waivers to the state of California.

Information, including decision documents: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/ca-waiver.htm

EPA Proposes Stringent Standards for Large Ships

WASHINGTON - The Environmental Protection Agency today announced the next steps in a coordinated strategy to slash harmful emissions from ocean-going vessels. EPA is proposing a rule under the Clean Air Act that sets tough engine and fuel standards for U.S. flagged ships that would harmonize with international standards and lead to significant air quality improvements throughout the country.

“These emissions are contributing to health, environmental and economic challenges for port communities and others that are miles inland. Building on our work to form an international agreement earlier this year, we’re taking the next steps to reduce significant amounts of harmful pollution from getting into the air we breathe,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Lowering emissions from American ships will help safeguard our port communities, and demonstrate American leadership in protecting our health and the environment around the globe.”

The rule comes on the heels of a key part of EPA’s strategy, a proposal last March by the United States and Canada to designate thousands of miles of the two countries’ coasts as an Emission Control Area (ECA). The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency, begins consideration of the ECA plan this month, which would result in stringent standards for large ships operating within 200 nautical miles of the coasts of Canada and the United States .

Air pollution from large ships, such as oil tankers and cargo ships, is expected to grow rapidly in line with port traffic increases. By 2030, the domestic and international strategy is expected to reduce annual emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from large marine diesel engines by about 1.2 million tons and particulate matter (PM) emissions by about 143,000 tons. When fully implemented, the coordinated effort would reduce NOx emissions by 80 percent and PM emissions by 85 percent compared to current emissions.

The emission reductions from the proposed strategy would yield significant health and welfare benefits that would span beyond U.S. ports and coastlines, reaching inland areas.  EPA estimates that in 2030, this effort would prevent between 13,000 and 33,000 premature deaths, 1.5 million work days lost, and 10 million minor restricted-activity days. The estimated annual health benefits in 2030 as a result of reduced air pollution are valued between $110 and $280 billion at an annual projected cost of approximately $3.1 billion – as high as a 90-to-1 benefit-to-cost ratio.

The proposed rulemaking is designed to reflect the IMO’s stringent ECA standards and broader worldwide program. The rule adds two new tiers of NO_X standards and strengthens EPA’s existing diesel fuel program for these ships. It represents another milestone in EPA’s decade-long effort to reduce pollution from both new and existing diesel engines under the National Clean Diesel Campaign.

Information on the components of the coordinated strategy, including the proposed Clean Air Act standards and the ECA designation: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/oceanvessels.htm

EPA Releases third National Assessment of Toxic Air Pollutants

EPA has released the latest version of a state-of-the-science tool that estimates health risks from breathing air toxics in the United States. The National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), based on 2002 air emissions data, helps federal, state, local and tribal governments identify areas and specific pollutants for further evaluation to better understand risks they may pose.

Air toxics are of concern because they are known to or are suspected of causing cancer and other serious health problems, including birth defects. The report assessed 180 air toxics plus diesel particulate matter from stationary sources of all sizes and from mobile sources such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment.

The 2002 NATA estimates that most people in the United States have an average cancer risk of 36 in 1 million if exposed to 2002 emissions levels over the course of their lifetime. In addition, 2 million people-less than one percent of the total U.S. population-have an increased cancer risk of greater than 100 in 1 million. Benzene was the largest contributor to the increased cancer risks.

NATA provides broad estimates of risk over geographic areas of the country and not definitive risks to specific individuals. The results are best used to prioritize pollutants and areas for further study, not as the sole basis for regulation or risk reduction activities.

Since the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, air toxic emissions have decreased by 40 percent from all sources. NATA can be used to help all levels of government target further reductions in air toxics emissions.

More information on NATA: www.epa.gov/nata2002
Information on air toxics: www.epa.gov/oar/toxicair/newtoxics.html