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EPA Settles Clean Air Act Case with Brooklyn Printer; Collects $40,000 Penalty; Company Did Not Use its Air Pollution Control Equipment for a Month

Release Date: 01/03/2000
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(#00002) New York, New York -- NAP Industries, Inc., of Brooklyn, New York has agreed to pay $40,000 for violations of the federal Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The company, which runs a flexographic printing facility on Kent Avenue in Brooklyn, had been cited by EPA for failing to operate pollution control equipment. The equipment controls emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which combine with other chemicals in sunlight to form ground-level ozone, or smog. The New York metropolitan area does not meet federal health-based standards for smog, and facilities in the area are required to control emissions of VOCs. "Every source of VOCs can contribute to the choking smog that we experience on hot days in the city," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Regional Administrator. "Smog is unhealthy, and controlling emissions of smog-forming chemicals is paramount to eliminating this pollution problem once and for all." On May 8, 1998, EPA inspected the NAP Industries, Inc. facility and found that a catalytic incinerator, used to control VOCs, was not operating due to malfunctioning of the equipment. The company is required to run this equipment between April 1 and October 31. The equipment is not required during colder weather when VOCs don't normally react and become smog. The company operated without pollution control equipment from April 1 until May 12, when the equipment was repaired. Allowing for days when the facility was not operating, this equipment would have been required on 26 of these days. In addition, the company was cited for storing VOC-containing inks and VOC-soaked rags in open containers.