Arnette Limited to pay civil penalty for hazardous waste violations

Arnette Limited, LLC, a manufacturer of epoxy blends and advanced resins, has agreed to pay a $90,591 civil penalty to the United States to settle a series of violations of environmental regulations related to the storage of hazardous wastes and the public reporting of toxic chemicals at its facilities in Richmond, Missouri.

According to an administrative consent agreement filed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 in Kansas City, Kansas, in December 2008 the agency conducted a compliance inspection of Arnette’s facility and found that it was operating as a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility without a permit, as required by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Missouri state regulations.

At the Wollard Boulevard facility, Arnette also failed to conduct hazardous waste determinations on waste vacuum pump oil, epoxy intermediate process water, diatomaceous earth waste and an area of spilled material on the floor of the facility’s hazardous waste tank storage area, the inspection noted. The inspection at the Wollard Boulevard facility also noted numerous violations involving failures to comply with hazardous waste generator requirements.

Subsequently, a November 2009 inspection of Arnette’s facility found the company had failed to submit reports to EPA and the state of Missouri concerning quantities of certain toxic chemicals that were manufactured, processed or otherwise used at the facility during 2006, 2007 and 2008. Those chemicals included diisocyanates, 4,4-isopropylideneiphenol and lead compounds (for all three years), phenol (for 2007 and 2008) and isobutyraldehyde (for 2008).

Submission of the annual toxic chemical reports is a requirement of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). Under EPCRA regulations, companies of certain size are required to submit annual reports to EPA and state authorities listing the amounts of regulated chemicals that their facilities release into the environment through routine activities or as a result of accidents. The reports provide an important source of information to emergency planners and responders, and residents of surrounding communities.

EPCRA was enacted by Congress in 1986 as an outgrowth of concern over the protection of the public from chemical emergencies and dangers. After the catastrophic accidental release of methyl isocyanate at Union Carbide’s Bhopal, India, facility in December 1984, and a later toxic release from a West Virginia chemical plant, it was evident that national public disclosure of emergency information was needed.