Release date: 07/24/2008
Contact Information: Mary Simms, 415-947-4270 simms.mary@epa.gov

(7/24/08) SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has waived penalties against the Swiss American Sausage Company, a subsidiary of Hormel Food Corporation, located in Lathrop, Calif., after the facility voluntarily reported federal Clean Air Act Risk Management Program violations.

“The EPA is pleased with the responsible action taken by the Swiss American Sausage Company -- it’s the responsibility of all companies to do the required reporting," said Keith Takata, Superfund Division director in the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. "It’s critical that facilities using chemicals follow our chemical accident prevention rules to protect the health and safety of area residents, emergency response personnel, and the environment."

The San Joaquin County-based food storage and distribution facility voluntarily disclosed to the EPA that it had not submitted a risk management plan, as required by the Clean Air Act. Swiss American Sausage self-disclosed the violations in accordance with EPA’s Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations Policy, commonly referred to as the ‘audit policy.’ The EPA has the discretion to eliminate penalties if it determines that a respondent has satisfied certain conditions set forth in the audit policy.

Federal regulations require all facilities using hazardous substances above specified thresholds to develop chemical risk management plans. Risk management plans help prevent chemical releases and prompt detection and response when chemical releases do occur. At this facility, at least 16,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia used in the refrigeration system mandated a risk management plan.
The EPA may reduce penalties up to 100 percent for violations that are voluntarily discovered, promptly disclosed to the agency and quickly corrected. Swiss American Sausage very quickly corrected and self-disclosed its violation.

A risk management plan must include an assessment of the potential effects of an accidental release, history of accidents over the past five years and employee training. The plan must also include an emergency response program that outlines procedures for informing the public and response agencies, such as the police and fire departments, in the event of an accident.

The risk management program requires an emergency response strategy, evaluation of a worst case and probable case chemical release, and a prevention program that includes operator training, a review of the hazards associated with using toxic or flammable substances, operating procedures and equipment maintenance.

Labels: chemical approval, chemical compliance, chemical compliance manager, chemical inventory, chemical management, EPA, inspections, Reports, workflow

Release date: 08/01/2008

Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355 / ryan.dave@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – August 1, 2008) EPA is launching an interim policy that offers incentives to new owners who correct environmental violations at recently-acquired regulated facilities. Under the interim policy, new owners may receive lower penalties than long-time owners.

“This is an opportunity for new owners to make a ‘clean start’ by correcting environmental problems that began under the previous owner’s watch,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This can lead to big gains for the public and the environment.”

Under the current EPA Audit Policy, the Agency offers reduced penalties to companies that self-audit their facilities, promptly disclose and correct any violations discovered, and take steps to prevent future violations. Under the interim policy announced today, an owner who acquires a new facility may get additional penalty reductions from disclosing an even greater range of violations.

EPA encourages companies with newly acquired facilities to examine compliance of their new facilities, correct environmental problems that began before acquisition, make changes to ensure they stay in compliance, and reduce pollutants going forward.

Since 1995, more than 3,500 companies at nearly 10,000 facilities have used the audit policy to disclose and resolve violations, most of which involved recordkeeping and reporting. With the incentives announced today, EPA hopes to encourage new owners to disclose violations that, once corrected, will yield significant environmental benefit and direct pollution reductions.

The new interim policy will be in effect immediately and EPA will accept public comment until October 30, 2008. The policy may change in light of these comments.

Labels: chemical compliance, chemical compliance manager, chemical inventory, chemical management, EPA, material safety data sheets, MSDS, penalties, Reports

You never know when they will come knocking! If your ducks are scattered you had better get them in a row beforehand or it could mean violations and possible fines.

There are steps you can take to be ready if you do get inspected. Loren Faulkner has written a good article on the topic. Below is an exerpt:

Why would OSHA conduct an inspection?

Somebody has made a complaint about worksite safety or health--perhaps a current or former employee, or perhaps even a resident from the community who is worried about hazardous materials or some other safety or health hazard that could affect the area surrounding your company.

A fatality has occurred in your facility.

It's a regularly scheduled inspection. This is most likely if you are in a high-hazard industry. Thousands of high-hazard worksites are targeted for unannounced, comprehensive safety and health inspections every year.

It's a follow-up visit, perhaps to determine if prior violations have been corrected.

What are inspectors looking for? Inspectors are looking for violations of OSHA standards.

8 Top Violations

The exact kind of violations depends on the nature of your operations and the particular hazards of your workplace. However, you and your employees should be aware that last year's list of the most-often-cited OSHA violations for general industry featured safety and health problems related to:

Machine guarding
Lockout/tagout
Ladders and scaffolding
Hazardous chemicals
Respiratory protection
Fall protection
Electrical safety
Powered industrial trucks

For the rest of the article click here

Labels: chemical compliance, chemical compliance manager, chemical inventory, chemical management, citations, osha, penalties