The U.S. EPA has reached a settlement with Greenfield Global USA, Inc., based in Brookfield, Conn., for alleged violations of both the Clean Air Act's General Duty Clause (CAA GDC) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).
Under the settlement, the company has agreed to pay a penalty of $179,596 and certify compliance with all its CAA GDC and EPCRA requirements.
Greenfield is a privately owned company that provides chemical repackaging, formulation and storage services at its facility in Brookfield, Conn. The company stores and processes numerous toxic chemicals at this facility for which it is required to annually report on its releases of the chemicals under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313.
The reports are filed in EPCRA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) database, which is available to the public. Greenfield also uses and stores chemicals that are considered extremely hazardous substances ("EHSs") and covered under the CAA's GDC, including chloroform, formaldehyde and sulfuric acid.
The company's alleged violations were first documented during an EPA inspection at Greenfield's facility at 58 Vail Rd.
EPA claims that the company failed to design and maintain a safe facility, which is necessary to prevent releases under CAA GDC requirements, and failed to properly submit nine reports regarding certain toxic chemicals to EPA's TRI database for the years 2017 and 2018.
Greenfield was cooperative with EPA throughout the inspection and enforcement process.
The facility is located within a half-mile of several retail businesses, two highways and a residential neighborhood. In addition, the neighboring community of Danbury has several environmental justice concerns, including proximity to hazardous waste and Risk Management Program facilities.
The company's storage of hazardous chemicals at the facility had the potential to present a substantial risk to human health and the environment, due to the presence of carcinogenic and highly flammable substances.
This case is part of an initiative to improve safety and compliance at chemical warehouses. Through the initiative, EPA Region 1 has brought several civil and criminal cases against chemical warehouses and published information to assist with compliance.
