Release date: 02/27/2008

Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017



(Boston, Mass. – Feb. 27, 2008) – Eleven companies based in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will pay EPA a penalty for failing to submit chemical inventory reports on chemicals present at their facilities, under terms of settlements recently reached. March 1 is the next deadline for submitting chemical inventory reports.

The settlements are between EPA and the following companies. Each company was assessed a fine of $2,000. The companies are:

Bass Plating Co., Bloomfield, Conn.
Fusco Brothers, Inc., Windsor, Conn.
O & W Heat Treat, Inc., South Windsor, Conn.
Dixfield Discount Fuel Co., Peru, Maine
Lisbon Fuel Co., Lisbon Falls, Maine
Murray Oil Co., Turner, Maine
TI Logistics, Inc., Worcester, Mass.
Geib Refining Corp., Warwick, R.I.
National Chain Co., Warwick, R.I.
Technodic, Inc., Providence, R.I.
M. Weisman Roofing Co., Warwick, R.I.

EPA reached expedited settlements with all 11 entities after inspections discovered failure to report as required under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). EPCRA Section 312 requires the companies to file hazardous chemical inventory reports (“Tier II” reports) that provide information on the nature, amount, location, and hazards of chemicals stored at the facility. The cases involved several different types of chemicals and businesses, including, among others, metal plating and treating operations that use acids and cyanides, and fuel companies that have large amounts of oil on site.

“Chemical reporting is very important for the public-at-large, and it is essential for the safety of first responders if there is an accident at one of these facilities,” said Robert Varney, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Regular reporting of hazardous chemicals helps first responders to protect themselves, and protect the public, if there is a fire or other dangerous event at a facility. Officials also use this information for disaster planning -- for example when simulating a response to a hurricane.”

Right-to-Know provisions help to increase the public's knowledge and access to information on the presence of hazardous chemicals in their communities. Among the key provisions of EPCRA, there are requirements for annual submission of chemical inventory data (known as Tier II reports) by facilities to state and local planning officials for incorporation into ongoing emergency planning. EPCRA also requires facilities to quantify and submit annual releases of certain chemicals for incorporation into a national database known as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI).

Under EPCRA, reporting of chemical inventory information is required under federal law each year. The next reporting deadline for Tier II reports is March 1. Facilities storing hazardous chemicals are required to file a chemical inventory with several entities: the State Emergency Response Commission, the Local Emergency Planning Committee and the local fire department. This is required to provide planners and first responders with information about the hazardous chemicals present in a community so that they can effectively prepare for and respond to chemical accidents. Facilities are subject to these requirements if they store hazardous substances on site in amounts equal to or greater than 10,000 pounds at any one time during a reporting year, although there are lower thresholds for extremely hazardous substances.

EPA helps companies meet their reporting obligations by offering compliance assistance in the every state. In anticipation of the upcoming March 1 reporting deadline, EPA already has held 13 compliance assistance conferences in several New England states, reaching approximately 1,300 people.

Labels: chemical compliance, chemical inventory, chemical management, EPA, inspections, Reports

Release date: 05/06/2008

Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, 415947.4149, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov



SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reached an $80,080 settlement with a Reno, Nev. company for its failure to submit required toxic chemical reports, a violation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

Electronic Evolution Technologies, Inc., located at 9455 Double R Road in Reno, Nev., failed to submit timely, complete, and correct reports detailing the amounts of lead processed at its facility from 2002 through 2005. EPA inspectors discovered the four violations as a result of a routine inspection in April 2007 and a follow-up investigation.

“Facilities that process particularly toxic chemicals, such as lead, must follow reporting rules to ensure area residents and emergency response personnel are informed of possible chemical hazards locally,” said Nathan Lau, Communities and Ecosystems Division Associate Director for EPA’s 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 community right-to-know laws require facilities processing, manufacturing, or otherwise using more than 100 pounds of lead to report releases of this highly toxic chemical on an annual basis to the EPA and the state. Although Electronic Evolution Technologies exceeded these thresholds from 2002 through 2005, it failed to submit reports to the agency for any of those years.

The facility uses lead in connection with its manufacturing of printed circuit boards. Although the facility’s operations did not release lead into the environment, it was still required to report lead processing to the EPA because the facility was over the applicable reporting threshold.

Exposure to lead may result in high blood pressure, digestive problems, muscle and joint pain, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems, increased chance of illness during pregnancy, and harm to a fetus, including brain damage or death. Exposure to even low levels of lead can severely harm children under the age of six.

Each year, the EPA compiles the information submitted to it from the previous year regarding toxic chemical releases and produces a national Toxics Release Inventory database for public availability. This TRI database estimates the amounts of each toxic chemical released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management, and also provides a trend analysis of toxic chemical releases.

Labels: chemical compliance, chemical management, enforcement, EPA, penalties

We at Safetec are very pleased and proud to become affiliate members of the VPPPA. Some of you we know already, and the rest we look forward to meeting. We respect and admire your commitment to become leaders in safety and to be seen as examples of what it looks like when safety is done right.

Safetec is committed to the same goal. Safetec is a Software as a Service (SaaS) organization providing world-class MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) and chemical management solutions and services to medium and large-sized organizations. But, rather than turning this email into an advertisement, we offer it as an invitation.

Please visit our chemical compliance website and see for yourself what Safetec has to offer your organization in regards to MSDS and chemical management.

View previous quarterly MSDS newsletters.

Download our white paper on Software as a Service as an EHS solution.

View our 3 Minute Movie.

Join us at these Chemical Compliance events.
We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you.

Best regards,

Jim Frohlich

Labels: chemical compliance, chemical management, material safety data sheets, MSDS, vpppa

Every business needs guidance and what would the business world be without attorneys? We wanted to go with the best so we are proud to announce that we have chosen AterWynne LLP as Safetec's legal partner.

“Safetec is pleased to announce its decision to partner with AterWynne LLP for legal counsel. AterWynne is well known for its work with both emerging and established software and technology businesses, and the firm also offers a highly skilled environmental practice. We believe this is a perfect fit to support Safetec’s needs as we grow our presence in the chemical management and compliance market,” said Jim Frohlich, Safetec CEO.

AterWynne is known for its strong practice among technology companies in the Pacific Northwest and California. Six AterWynne partners have been included in The Best Lawyers in America 2007, a national referral guide for the legal profession.

Labels: aterwynne, chemical management