[caption id="attachment_4269" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Air ollution"]
[/caption]GHN - Seattle -U.S. Oil & Refining Co. was hit with a big fine for
violations of the Clean Air Act. During a time when climate change is
seen to impact weather conditions, efforts to curb folks are critical to changes that need to be made.
According to a recent release from the EPA, U.S. Oil and Refining will pay a
$230,000 fine for violations of federal air laws and spend hundreds of
thousands of dollars on voluntary projects to reduce environmental
impacts, according to a consent decree entered jointly by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice and the
Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The company owns and operates a petroleum
refinery located on the tideflats in Tacoma, Washington.
“Petroleum
refineries produce toxic emissions, so they must control environmental
impacts and comply with the law,” said Jeff Kenknight, Manager of the
Air Compliance Unit at EPA’s Seattle office. “These laws are in place to
protect air quality and human health—this refinery is doing the right
thing by upgrading its facility.”
The Tacoma refinery, which can process over 39,000 barrels per day, had a range ofClean Air Act
violations between 1993 and 2006. The violations included failing to
adequately report and track the benzene content in wastes from refinery
operations in annual reports to EPA and the Puget Sound Clean Air
Agency, and failure to repair and report leaking valves and pumps in a
timely manner.
Benzene
is found in emissions from burning coal and oil, gasoline service
stations, and motor vehicle exhaust. It is a known human carcinogen.
Short-term exposure can cause respiratory and skin irritation.
"We
face a number of clean air challenges in Tacoma," said Craig Kenworthy,
Executive Director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. "Meeting them
means that everyone, including large operations like U.S. Oil, must
comply with the standards that protect the health of the people in our
region."
As
part of the settlement, the company will enhance its leak detection and
benzene waste programs by making repairs when leaks are detected at
levels lower than required by the regulations. It will also ramp up its
monitoring of the quantities of benzene in the waste streams generated
at the facility.
In
addition to the fine, the company will spend $746,000 on upgrades to
its facility to reduce other environmental impacts. These projects
include controlling asphalt vapors that contain particulate pollution, a
respiratory irritant and air pollutant.
