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EPA reaches agreement with Trialco on clean-air violations

Release Date: 02/22/2006
Contact Information: William Omohundro, (312) 353-8254 / [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 06-OPA025

CHICAGO (Feb. 22, 2006) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has reached an agreement with Trialco Inc. on alleged clean-air violations at the company's aluminum-recovery plant at 900 E. 14th St., Chicago Heights, Ill.

The agreement, which includes two environmental projects costing $426,000 and a $20,000 penalty, resolves an EPA complaint alleging that Trialco failed to comply with testing, operating, monitoring, notification, recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Clean Air Act. Secondary aluminum plants must test for emissions of dioxins and furans, both hazardous air pollutants.

Trialco will spend $26,000 to do a series of tests to show how ammonia gas injection can neutralize hydrochloric acid and to measure its result on dioxin emissions. Trialco will also spend $400,000 on evaluating technologies to reduce combustion emissions from its furnaces and on selecting and installing a technology that will reduce these emissions by one third to one half.

There is evidence that dioxins may cause liver damage and probably cause cancer in humans, and furans may cause cancer in humans.