A chemical company that operates a plant in Reserve, La., has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will result in the reduction of 5.6 tons of hazardous air emissions annually.
Evonik Corp., a German-based firm with facilities in a part of Louisiana dubbed “Cancer Alley,” agreed to pay a fine of $75,000 after EPA inspections carried out last year found excessive releases of potentially cancer-causing substances at the plant in Reserve.
The emissions included ethylene oxide, a volatile organic compound (VOC) that can cause public health problems such as asthma, bronchitis and lung damage, according to the EPA. Another hazardous chemical called ethylene glycol, which is found in products such as antifreeze and cosmetics, was released in quantities that violated the limits outlined in the EPA’s permits.
““We care deeply about the environment and the health and safety of our employees and the neighbors of our plant,” Kelly Lanz, an environment safety advisor for Evonik’s Care Solutions business in North America, said in a statement provided to the Louisiana Record. “We want people in the community to know that we are very sorry. As soon as we realized that our emissions exceeded the permitted limits, we voluntarily shut down production and self-reported the data to both the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and EPA Region 6.”
The EPA said the company has agreed to spend another $335,000 to put in place a vapor recovery program to capture VOCs that are released at the facility while trucks load and unload products. In addition, within two months, the company has said it will install a system to better deal with leaks and repairs.
Evonik shut down the facility from Nov. 18 of last year until the installation of a temporary flaring system on Feb. 3 to protect the surrounding air quality.
The company employs more than 50 workers in Reserve to produce specialty surfactants for cleaning products, laundry soap and surface coatings, according to Evonik.