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EPA Settles Complaint With San Fernando Refrigeration Company For $37,000

Release Date: 1/29/2004
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, U.S. EPA, (213) 452-3378

     LOS ANGELES -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reached a $37,415 settlement with Anthony International, a manufacturer of commercial refrigeration products, for failing to report the use of toxic chemicals at its San Fernando, Calif. facility.
         
     Anthony International, also known as Anthony, Inc., used over 10,000 lbs of ammonia and methanol in 2001 and 2002.  Federal community-right-to-know laws require companies using more than 10,000 pounds of these chemicals in a year to report their usage to the EPA and the state.

     Ammonia and methanol are suspected gastrointestinal, neurological, skin/sense organ, and respiratory toxicants, with methanol also suspected as a kidney and developmental toxicant.  Exposure may cause adverse effects on these systems.  
     
     "These right-to-know reports give local citizens valuable information on chemicals being released in their communities," said Enrique Manzanilla, the EPA's regional Cross Media Division director for the Pacific Southwest region.  "This penalty should remind others that we are maintaining a close watch over chemical reporting practices and are serious about enforcing community right-to-know laws."

     Federal law requires certain facilities using chemicals over certain amounts to file annual reports of chemical releases with the EPA and the state. The reports estimate the amounts of each toxic chemical released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management.  Information is then compiled into a national database and made available to the public.

     Each year the EPA publishes a report entitled the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release, which summarizes the prior year's submissions and provides detailed trend analysis of toxic chemical releases.  For more information on the program, visit  https://www.epa.gov/tri.   The U.S. EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can be accessed at:  https://www.epa.gov/enviro.