National industrial laundry firm AmeriPride Services will pay $75,000 to resolve claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at the laundry’s Hartford and Worcester, Mass. facilities.
EPA claims that between 1988 and 2013 AmeriPride failed to seek air permits and control emissions for newly installed washers and dryers. Since the firm laundered shop and print towels at the facilities, it could have been a significant source of volatile organic compounds, which impact health and air pollution.
Last year, AmeriPride ceased all laundering operations in Hartford and stopped laundering print and shop towels in Worcester. Shop towels are used to clean mechanical equipment while print towels are used to clean printing or graphics art equipment.
The AmeriPride settlement is part of EPA’s seven-year investigation into all laundering facilities in New England, which also yielded settlements this year by Massachusetts-based UniFirst Corp. and Ohio-based Cintas Corp. The total penalties stemming from the EPA investigation paid this year are more than $530,000.
