Tri-Cities company pays $100,000 to settle EPA concerns about toxic chemical safety

Feb. 22--A Tri-Cities business has agreed to pay $100,000 to the federal government to settle allegations it did not meet requirements for a risk management program intended to protect the community.

The Environmental Protection Agency said Oxarc at 716 Oregon Ave., Pasco, was required to meet standards for a risk management program set out in the federal Clean Air Act because of the amount of certain chemicals it stored.

Oxarc -- which provides industrial, medical and specialty gases, among other products -- stored more than 2,500 pounds of chlorine and more than 5,000 pounds of the toxic gas sulfur dioxide in Pasco.

"Anyone who stores large quantities of dangerous chemicals has a duty to obey the laws that are intended to protect such a facility's neighbors," said Ed Kowalski, director of the EPA Region 10 Enforcement and Compliance Assistance Division.

"We are on the lookout for these kinds of violations because they can lead to tragedies when an accident happens," he said.

Risk management plans are required to detect, prevent or minimize accidental releases of toxic chemical and provide quick emergency response.

A good risk management plan also provides valuable information to local fire, police and other emergency response officials to prepare for and respond to emergencies, EPA said.

The deficiencies alleged by EPA have been corrected, according to a settlement agreement signed by Oxarc and EPA. Oxarc neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the agreement.

EPA accused Oxarc of failing to have appropriate mechanisms in place to notify emergency responders in the event of a chemical release and failing to develop an emergency response plan that included all necessary contact information.

Oxarc also had insufficient safety information, including on its chlorine and sulfur dioxide storage equipment, and had not produced an adequate hazard analysis, according to EPA.

Written operating procedures failed to include all needed information for emergency shutdowns and operations, the federal agency said.

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