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Elyria Recycling agrees to EPA order to protect stratospheric ozone

Release Date: 6/28/2005
Contact Information:

CONTACT: William Omohundro, (312) 353-8254

For Immediate Release
No. 05-OPA099

CHICAGO (June 28, 2005) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has issued an administrative consent order to Elyria Recycling Co. that requires the company to comply with federal regulations to protect stratospheric ozone at the company's scrap processing facility at 800 Infirmary Road, Elyria, Ohio.

EPA cited Elyria Recycling last September for failing to recover refrigerants containing ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons from appliances or to verify if they had been removed before disposal. In addition, EPA said the company failed to keep copies of signed statements verifying CFC removal for at least three years.

In January, Elyria Recycling bought refrigerant-recovery equipment for use in carrying out the order. The order does not limit EPA's authority to seek appropriate relief, including penalties, for Elyria Recycling's alleged violation of these clean-air regulations.

"EPA's mission is to protect public health and the environment," said Acting Regional Administrator Bharat Mathur. "We will take whatever steps are needed to ensure compliance with the Clean Air Act."

When CFC refrigerants deplete the stratospheric ozone layer, dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet rays from the sun strike the earth. Production of some of these chemicals was stopped in 1995, and federal law strictly controls their use and handling.