A West Hartford metal treater and two other companies with Connecticut operations face $56,000 in fines for failing to notify state and federal authorities about the amounts of hazardous substances used at their facilities, environmental regulators say.
The Boston office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said it issued complaints against the Sousa Corp., a West Hartford operator of a metal heat treating facility; Southport woven wire products maker Jelliff Corp.; and Superior Printing Ink Co. Inc. in Hamden.
Companies that store or use dangerous chemicals on their sites are required annually to fill out paperwork disclosing how much is stored there to protect firefighters and other emergency responders, EPA said.
An EPA inspection of Sousa in May 2008 uncovered large amounts of anhydrous ammonia and quench oil that were unreported, the agency said.
Anhydrous ammonia is an explosive hazardous chemical that is corrosive to the skin, eyes, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract. Quench oil is flammable and an irritant to the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Sousa faces a penalty of $13,700, EPA said.
A Sousa official declined comment today.
Another inspection that same month revealed that Jelliff also had failed to disclose to authorities its volume of fuel oil and anhydrous ammonia, the agency said. Jelliff faces a penalty of $11,115.
Jelliff officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In July 2008, EPA inspected the Hamden ink-production plant run by Superior Printing, based in Teterboro, N.J., and uncovered three years of lapses in reporting sulfuric acid and hazardous oils used in inks. Superior faces a penalty of $31,340.
Peter Mizerek, Superior’s environmental health and safety director, said today the company did not disclose the materials because “we didn’t consider our products hazardous.”
Mizerek said Superior is weighing a challenge to the EPA’s fine.Â
