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EPA Seeks Monetary Penalty Against Durham, Conn. Company for Violations of Environmental Regulations

Release Date: 10/05/2001
Contact Information: Mark Merchant, EPA Press Office (617) 918-1013

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the filing of a complaint against a Connecticut manufacturing company for violations of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA).

The Durham Manufacturing Co., which makes metal boxes at its plant on Main Street in Durham, will pay a $55,000 penalty for under reporting, in 1997 and 1998, the quantities of xylene and dichloromethane that it released into the air in a toxic release inventory, or TRI.

Xylene and dichloromethane were used by Durham for degreasing and in spray painting. The penalty action stemmed from an inspection performed in April, 1999.

The TRI is a large data base of chemical emission information tracked from companies required to report under EPCRA. TRI data provides the amount, location, type of emissions released into the environment, and information on toxic waste shipped off-site for further treatment and disposal. TRI data covers legal chemical emissions and is used for comprehensive risk planning by federal, state and local officials.

"When a company fails to report information like this, it deprives a community of its right to know about the chemicals being used in its neighborhoods and being released into its environment," said Robert W. Varney, head of EPA's New England office.

The chemicals that are reported under the TRI can have significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. Dichloromethane and xylene are both volatile organic chemicals and evaporate readily. They are toxic by inhalation and releases contribute to the formation of ground level ozone.

The TRI data allows the public, industry and state and local governments to make informed decisions about the management and control of these and other toxic chemicals. The data is used by industries to analyze their wastes and identify areas where source reduction and other pollution prevention activities can be used so that wastes and emissions are minimized.

But more importantly, the TRI has proved to be an effective vehicle for determining pollution prevention opportunities that drives the total emissions and waste streams down. More than one third of the nearly 24,000 facilities filing TRI data reported undertaking at least one source reduction activity designed to prevent or reduce the generation of toxic chemicals.

Any citizen can access TRI reports on the internet by visiting EPA's Envirofacts website. The TRI data for Durham Manufacturing Co., which reflects the corrections the company has made since the inspection, shows a downward trend in air emissions in the most recent years of reporting. Regional Administrator Varney noted that "the TRI data is there for the public to use. Companies that have made reductions in releases will continue to improve their operations if they know citizens are watching."