Manufacturer Fined $200K for Air Violations

A Rhode Island manufacturing company has recently paid a civil penalty of $198,500 to resolve Clean Air Act violations at its facility in Vermont. Specifically, the facility manufactures and distributes natural and synthetic rubber and elastic tapes, threads, and sheets for use in a broad range of products.

EPA’s complaint alleged that the facility violated various conditions of a federally enforceable air permit issued by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VTDEC) pertaining to the operation and maintenance of its emissions control system and recordkeeping, as well as an emissions limitation established by the permit for particulate matter (PM). Additionally, the complaint states that the facility violated federal regulations encouraging the recapture and recycling of ozone-depleting refrigerants during the service, maintenance, and repair of covered appliances.
The alleged violations resulted in a release of PM above the permitted limit and made compliance monitoring difficult for VTDEC and EPA.

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According to EPA, the facility has since come into compliance with the requirements of its permit and has taken steps to reduce its use of chlorofluorocarbons.

What is PM?

PM is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope.
Particle pollution includes “inhalable coarse particles,” with diameters larger than 2.5 micrometers (μm) and smaller than 10 μm and “fine particles,” with diameters that are 2.5 μm and smaller. 
How small is 2.5 μm? Think about a single hair from your head. The average human hair is about 70 μm in diameter—making it 30 times larger than the largest fine particle.
These particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Some particles, known as primary particles are emitted directly from a source, such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires. Others form in complicated reactions in the atmosphere of chemicals such as sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides that are emitted from power plants, industries, and automobiles. These particles, known as secondary particles, make up most of the fine particle pollution in the country.