The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with New Haven-based Trelleborg Coated Systems US, Inc. for an alleged violation of the federal Clean Air Act.
The company must pay a fine of $305,305 and come into compliance with the act, or shut down its New Haven facility by July 1.
EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash said, “This settlement will result in improved air quality for the people of New Haven, a community that has historically been overburdened by environmental pollution.”
“No one should be worried that the air that they breathe has been compromised due to a company’s alleged failure to follow federal laws, and I’m glad to say the community of New Haven is now better protected as a result of EPA’s action,” Cash added.
The manufacturing company performs processes on various fabrics such as urethane coating and laminating to achieve chemical repellant and flame-retardant properties. This is used on products like escape slides, blood pressure cuffs and mattresses.
EPA conducted an inspection of Trelleborg’s facility on Lenox Street in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), after which the EPA alleged several violations.
These alleged violations include operating six coating lines and two laminating lines and also involve the associated capture systems and the control system.
Additionally, after testing was conducted on the facility’s oxidizer, it was discovered that Trelleborg was not reaching the required destruction efficiency of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), according to the government.
VOCs may cause adverse health effects such as eye, nose and throat irritation and even potential damage to the liver, kidneys and central nervous system.
The facility was also not maintaining necessary VOC usage records, the government indicated.
A similar case was presented by the EPA to Trelleborg’s Rhode Island facility several years ago and found that the capture system for the coating line was not meeting the required efficiency and the oxidizer was not the correct size.
A message seeking a comment from the company was not immediately returned.
Contact Matthew Verrilli at mverrilli@newhavenbiz.com.
