All News Releases By Date

FOUR FIRMS TO PAY PENALTIES FOR USING OZONE-DAMAGING SUBSTANCES PENALTIES IN CALIF., HAWAII TOTAL $127,875

Release Date: 1/7/1999
Contact Information: Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

     (San Francisco) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced that it has taken enforcement action against three businesses in California and one in Hawaii for violating restrictions on stratospheric ozone-depleting chemicals under the Clean Air Act.  The California facilities cited are a GTE California Inc. installation in Pomona, which will pay an $85,000 penalty, Foxboro/ICT Inc. in San Jose, which will pay $34,375, and Kustom Foam Manufacturing in Modesto, whose penalty is $1,000.  Clay's Auto Recyclers of Pearl City, Hawaii will pay a $7,500 penalty.

     "The use and release of ozone-depleting substances is restricted under the Clean Air Act because they harm the earth's stratospheric ozone layer, which protects all life on the earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation ," said Dave Howekamp, director of U.S. EPA's western regional Air Division.  "There are legal alternatives to ozone depleters available to use in new products, and there is equipment available to recycle CFCs in old appliances, rather than releasing CFCs to the atmosphere."

     The GTE facility in Pomona has building air conditioning equipment containing CFC-11, an ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC).  The substance is legal to use in such equipment, but GTE failed to adequately repair leaks, and failed to use recovery equipment to capture and recycle refrigerant, practices which result in releasing CFC to the air.

     The Foxboro/ICT facility, which precision cleans electronic components, discovered that it had unintentionally continued using an HCFC, which is another class of ozone-depleting substances, after a deadline for ending its use.  Managers of the facility reported their accidental violation to U.S. EPA, which granted a substantial penalty reduction due to the company's voluntary self-reporting.

     Kustom Foam Manufacturing used HCFC-141b in manufacturing seats for roller coasters and go-carts.  Use of this ozone-depleting substance is banned in products classified as non-essential, including plastic foam products.

     Clay's Auto Recyclers Inc. dismantles cars and appliances, such as refrigerators, to recycle the metals.  Old refrigerators typically use an ozone-depleting substance as a refrigerant.  Clay's violated the regulation when cutting refrigerant lines on old refrigerators before scrapping them, thus venting refrigerant into the air.

     Currently available legal alternatives to CFCs and HCFCs include ozone-friendly substances like water, pentane, and HFCs (hydroflourocarbons).  Production of CFCs was banned by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 because they deplete the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere, which protects living things from harmful ultraviolet radiation.  Reductions in stratospheric ozone can cause increased incidence of skin cancers and cataracts, suppression of the immune system, and damage to plants, including crops, and aquatic organisms.  Persons interested in obtaining additional information about CFCs or HCFCs, or who would like to report suspected violations, are encouraged to call U.S. EPA's toll-free hotline at 1-800-296-1996 or visit U.S. EPA's Internet site at www.epa.gov/ozone.

                            #   #   #