All News Releases By Date

A Roundup of Recent News Items in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S.V.I.

Release Date: 07/26/2000
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NYC Transit and its Contractor in Hot Water Over Asbestos Violation New York, N.Y. – The New York City Transit Authority and its contractor, Admiral Construction Corp. of Maspeth, New York could face a total up to $11,842 in penalties for violations of federal asbestos rules. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a complaint to the two entities for failure to adequately wet asbestos containing materials that were removed from the Stanton Street Substation located on Essex Street in lower Manhattan before placing them in air tight bags for disposal. The violation was discovered during an August 20, 1999 EPA inspection. Under the federal Clean Air Act, asbestos containing materials must be kept wet, to prevent asbestos particles from becoming airborne, until they are placed in leak-proof containers. EPA is seeking penalties from either the owner of the property or the asbestos removal contractor because both are liable for penalties under federal law. Asbestos is a fiber that can cause respiratory ailments such as asbestosis, a degenerative lung disease and mesothelioma, a very rare cancer of the lining of the lungs.  For more information, contact Mary Mears at 212-637-3669. Verona, NJ Woman and Her Company Sentenced for Testing Pesticide on Unwitting Subjects New York, N.Y. – Five months after pleading guilty to violating federal law by testing a pesticide on at least 300 human test subjects without their knowledge or consent, Lynne Harrison, the president and owner of Harrison Research Labs, Inc. of Union, New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nicholas H. Politan yesterday. Judge Politan imposed a $5,000 penalty on Ms. Harrison, and five years of probation and a penalty of $104,000 on Harrison Labs. Ms. Harrison had pleaded guilty to a charge that she violated the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) by testing the pesticide DEET on human test subjects in 1995 and 1996 without their being fully informed of the nature and purpose of the tests and of any reasonably foreseeable physical or mental health consequences. Harrison also admitted on behalf of her company that, when it was discovered that Harrison Labs would be the subject of an audit by the EPA, Harrison Labs asked the firm that hired it to conduct the tests to backdate certain documents to help Harrison Labs comply with EPA regulatory requirements. For more information about this case, please contact Nina Habib Spencer at 212-637-3670. Three New Jersey Companies Settle with EPA on Chemical Reporting Charges New York, N.Y. - EPA has settled with three New Jersey companies for violations of federal chemical reporting requirements under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), a law passed by Congress in 1986 in response to the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India. EPCRA requires certain industries to submit reports to EPA about their production, processing, use and release into the environment of over 600 toxic chemicals by July 1 of every year. This information is then compiled into a publicly-released Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) report, which is updated every year and is the most important source of information about how much of certain toxic chemicals used by nearby facilities are released into residents’ local environment. The Toxic Release Inventory is available on the EPA website at https://www.epa.gov/triexplorer/explorer.htm.   For more information about the cases below, contact Nina Habib Spencer at 212-637-3670. Fabricolor Manufacturing Corporation 24 ½ Van Houten Street, Paterson EPA inspected the Fabricolor facility in Paterson on September 25, 1998, and found that the company failed to submit TRI information about nitrate compounds in 1995 and 1996 and C.I. Direct Blue 218 (a pigment) for 1996. The company settled with EPA for a cash penalty of $8,115 and agreed to make a $103,000 improvement to its Paterson facility that will reduce risks of exposure to ammonia to the surrounding area in the event of a massive equipment failure. This improvement was made possible through EPA’s innovative Supplemental Environmental Project program, which gives companies settling with the agency the option of doing projects that will benefit human health or the environment. Fabricolor has agreed to replace a 1,700 gallon tank holding anhydrous ammonia at the facility with a 10,000 gallon tank holding aqueous ammonia . Anhydrous ammonia is pure ammonia in a compressed gas form which, if a release from the tank should occur, would very quickly evaporate into the air and could pose an acute risk to people who are exposed to it. Aqueous ammonia is between only 18 and 29% ammonia, dissolved in water. This form of ammonia poses much less of a risk to people because in the event of a release, it evaporates into the air at a much slower rate, has a smaller radius of release and is easier to contain. Operation of the new tank is to begin in early December 2000. Fabricolor manufactures organic dyes and pigments. Air Cruisers Company Highway 34 South & Allaire Airport, Wall Township A November 1998 EPA inspection of Air Cruisers’ Wall Township facility revealed that it had failed to submit TRI information for methyl ethyl ketone, a solvent, in 1994, 1997 and 1998. In settling with EPA on these charges, Air Cruisers voluntarily disclosed that it had also failed to provide EPA with information about methyl ethyl ketone at its Liberty, Mississippi plant from 1994 to 1998 and toluene in 1994. The company uses methyl ethyl ketone in its manufacture and repair of airplane escape chutes. The company subsequently filed all the missing information, and has agreed to pay a penalty of $70,040 for its infractions. Facile Holdings 4-22 Erie Street, Paterson EPA inspected Facile Holdings’ Paterson facility, where metals are coated with adhesive films such as propylene and nylon, in March 1999 based on a referral from the New Jersey Work Environment Council. The company uses the chemicals toluene and methyl ethyl ketone in the adhesion process. EPA found that in past Toxic Release Inventory forms submitted to the agency, Facile claimed it had not emitted any toluene or methyl ethyl ketone into the air in 1994 and 1995. Based on the amount of materials used by the company in its processes, however, EPA determined that the Paterson facility released approximately 63,877 lbs. of methyl ethyl ketone and approximately 11,007 lbs. of toluene into the air over the two years. EPA also determined that in 1994 and 1996, the company filed its annual chemical release information for the two chemicals late. The company settled with EPA on the charges for a penalty of $50,741. Note to Editors: To subscribe to EPA Region 2 Press Releases, go to https://www.epa.gov/region02/epd/press.htm and follow subscription instructions.