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1. EPA FINALIZES METAL PRODUCTS AND MACHINERY CLEAN WATER RULE; 2. CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY SOUTH CAROLINA COMPANY AND GOLDMAN; 3. VERMONT MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGALLY REMOVING ASBESTOS IN CONNECTICUT; 4. TWO MEN CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL IN ST. THOMASPress Advisory FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2003 EPA FINALIZES METAL PRODUCTS AND MACHINERY CLEAN WATER RULE John Millett 202-564-7842/millett.john@epa.gov EPA has issued a new clean water rule that will reduce pollution from an estimated 2,400 metal products and machinery (MP&M) operations across the country. EPA anticipates that compliance with the regulation will prevent 500,000 pounds of pollution per year – primarily oil and grease and total suspended solids – from entering America’s waterways. The facilities covered by the rule manufacture, rebuild, or maintain metal products, parts, or machines and directly discharge treated effluent from activities generating oily wastewater. These facilities fall within various industry sectors, including the aerospace, household equipment, hardware, office machines and motor vehicles industries. More information on the MP&M final rule is available at: http://www.epa.gov/guide/mpm/ . ENFORCEMENT WRAP-UP Teresa Libera 202-564-7873/libera.teresa@epa.gov CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY SOUTH CAROLINA COMPANY AND GOLDMAN James Goldman of Lexington, S.C., and Tin Products, a company in the business of manufacturing tin-based compounds for use in the manufacture of plastics, each pled guilty on Jan. 27 to violating the Clean Water Act. In February 2000, a Tin Products facility had a chemical spill that entered Red Bank Creek, a tributary of the Congaree River. The spill resulted in hundreds of dead fish, a municipal sewage treatment plant closing and the switch to an alternate drinking water supply for City of Cayce residents. Clean-up of the site cost over $1 million and approximately $8 million was spent for the alternate drinking water supply. When sentenced in U.S. District Court for District of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., Goldman faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. Tin Products faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000 when sentenced. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division Atlanta Area Office and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Protection. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia, SC, and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. VERMONT MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGALLY REMOVING ASBESTOS IN CONNECTICUT On Feb. 5, Edward Carroll of Ludlow, Vt., plead guilty to violating the Clean Air Act by failing to remove asbestos before conducting a demolition project in Plainfield, Conn. In fall of 2000, Carroll conducted demolition and renovation activities at the Inter-Royal Mill in Plainfield. Prior to the demolition, he failed to remove all asbestos-containing materials (ACM). The failure to remove ACM before demolition can cause asbestos fibers to become airborne where they can be inhaled by workers and the public. Inhaling asbestos fibers is a known cause of lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. When sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut in New Haven, Carroll faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and/or a maximum fine of up to $500,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division Boston Area Office and the Plainfield Police Department with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Haven. TWO MEN CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL IN ST. THOMAS Cleve-Allan George and Dylan Starnes each were named in a sixteen-count indictment on Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court for the District of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas. George, operator of the Virgin Islands Asbestos Removal Co. in St. Thomas and Starnes, president of Environmental Compliance and Consulting Inc., allegedly violated the Clean Air Act by unlawfully removing and handling asbestos-containing material (ACM) at the Donoe Community Housing. In January and early February of 2001, the indictment alleges, both men failed to adequately wet ACM during stripping operations and to ensure that the ACM remained wet until it was collected for disposal. Additionally, allegedly both discharged visible ACM emissions to outside air and each made a false statement in the waste shipment record concerning the classification of ACM shipped. The indictment further alleges both men falsified air quality monitoring results and employee exposure monitoring results for ACM. Improperly removing and handling ACM, and falsifying monitoring results can lead to the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers by workers and the general public. The inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers is a known cause of lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000 for each count upon which he was convicted. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division New York City Area Office and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Thomas. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law. R047 # # # Release date:02/14/2003 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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