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EPA REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH COVENTRY MANUFACTURER OVER WASTE HANDLING VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 09/16/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617) 918-4154

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with the Hoechst Celanese Corporation in Coventry, R.I. that calls for the manufacturer to pay more than $16,000 and donate $62,500 worth of equipment to a local emergency response organization in return for violating numerous provisions of the country's major waste handling statute, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Hoechst will donate equipment, pager dispatch capabilities and OSHA-mandated medical examination gear to the Community Emergency Response Team, which was recently created to provide a single skilled team for confined space rescues and hazardous materials incidents. None of the fire or police departments in the area were able to adequately respond to such incidents prior to the creation of this body.

"This settlement will set in place a number of preventative waste management measures that will translate into a safer facility for workers and the surrounding community," said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England Office. "We are also pleased that we could substitute a large chunk of the fine into much needed equipment for the local emergency response team."

During an inspection that the EPA conducted in February 1997, investigators found the following violations: failure to maintain an adequate contingency plan; failure to conduct weekly inspections; failure to transfer hazardous wastes to containers in good condition; storage of hazardous waste in a manner risking a leak; failure to comply with the 90-day storage requirements; failure to properly label or mark containers; and failure to conduct adequate waste determinations.

Hoechst, now known as HNA Holdings, Inc., manufactures organic chemical intermediates, pigments, dyestuffs and bulk pharmaceuticals at its facility on 500 Washington Street.

The EPA reduced the original proposed penalty of $127,199 to $16,542 -- and the emergency response gear cost of $62,500 -- based in part upon evidence provided during settlement discussions that corrected earlier information.

The settlement requires Hoechst to properly mark, label and manage its hazardous waste containers, conduct weekly inspections of the facility, and conduct proper hazardous waste determinations for all wastes generated at the facility. The company has already begun instituting some of these changes.