This week marks the 15th annual Air Quality Awareness Week (May 3-7) with the theme being “Healthy Air – Important for Everyone.” Learn more about the daily topics and resources that can help you stay safe:

• Monday – Wildfires & Smoke
• Tuesday – Asthma & Your Health
• Wednesday – Citizen Science & Sensors
• Thursday – Environmental Justice Communities & Air Quality
• Friday – Air Quality Around the World

And don’t forget to stay informed and stay educated.

Check out our Air Quality Awareness Training and learn about:

• Federal & state air regulations
• What air pollution is & where it comes from
• Air permit requirements
• Types of air emission sources
• Mobile & stationary sources of air emissions
• Best management practices (BMPs) to help control air emissions
• What hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are, and the health problems associated with them
• What Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) is, and the health problems associated with them
• What Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are
• How to minimize exposure to VOCs
• How to prepare for an inspection

Learn more now!

Air Quality Awareness Training

“Hazardous waste violations at UCT facility in Bristol, Pa. result in $44,880 penalty

PHILADELPHIA (March 3, 2021) – Chemical manufacturer UCT will pay a $44,880 penalty to settle hazardous waste violations at its Bristol, Pennsylvania, facility, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

EPA cited the company for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal law governing the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment and avoid long and extensive cleanups, by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste.

UCT manufactures a variety of chemical products at its facility at 2731 Bartram Road in Bristol. These include solid phase extraction products for hospitals, clinical and toxicology labs, food safety testing labs, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and environmental testing facilities; and silane/silicone products used in the glass and fiber optic industries, medical device, cosmetics, paints and coatings, adhesives and electronics industries.

According to EPA, the company violated RCRA rules including storing hazardous waste for more than 90 days without a permit, failure to properly mark hazardous waste containers, failure to keep hazardous waste containers closed, failure to make waste determinations and failure to provide annual RCRA training.

Do you know the rules and regulations that can avoid violations like these? With our library of hazardous waste training, you can learn crucial topics like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), hazardous waste determinations, HAZMAT federal laws, proper management, reporting and recordkeeping, preparing and responding to emergencies, and the differences between hazardous materials, hazardous substances, and hazardous waste.

Avoid violations before they happen. Visit our hazardous waste training now.

To view this press release in its entirety, click here. 

Stormwater has many negative impacts causing erosion, damage, pollution and danger to wildlife. Proper knowledge of the rules and regulations, inspections and executing best management practices are important for safety and to avoid violations like these:

EPA settles with City of Pittsburgh, PWSA on stormwater violations

PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 5, 2021) – The City of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) are required to adhere to a schedule of corrective actions to address stormwater inspection and enforcement violations under a consent agreement announced today by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Under the agreement, the city and PWSA are required to:

• submit an updated stormwater code for approval to the Pittsburgh city council by July 2021;
• hire additional inspectors and enforcement staff for 2022; and
• put management partnership procedures in place by the end of January 2022.

The violations included failure to implement inspections and enforcement procedures for construction site erosion and sediment control measures, and for post-construction stormwater management best management practices.

The agreement requires the city and PWSA to comply with a schedule of activities to ensure full compliance with these requirements by March 31, 2022 and to submit quarterly progress reports to EPA. EPA coordinated with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in developing the settlement.

Read the full article on EPA’s site here.

Check out our catalog of Stormwater courses and learn critical information to stay compliant and avoid violations.

Topics include:

• Common sources of pollution in stormwater runoff
• Major federal stormwater laws
• Why sediment control is important
• Nonpoint and point source pollution
• Stormwater cross-connections
• NPDES Phase I and II
• Stormwater permitting associated with construction activities
• Stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP)
• Stormwater and erosion impacts associated with construction sites
• Controlling erosion at construction sites
• Construction site best management practices (BMPs)
• Stormwater and erosion control inspections at construction sites
• Penalties for non-compliance
• Storm drain inspection and maintenance
• Best management practices (BMPs) for storm drain cleaning
• What to note when reporting violations
• What stormwater management is
• Traditional stormwater management techniques and management problems
• The benefits of Low Impact Development (LID)
• LID structural and non-structural best management practices (BMPs)
• A review of the following LID practices
• Plus much more

Learn more about Stormwater training now:   

Company settles with $344,364 penalty for violations of Risk Management Plan requirements at its petroleum refining facility. Read more from the release below:

Big West Oil, LLC resolves chemical risk management violations at North Salt Lake facility

Company corrects Clean Air Act deficiencies to reduce risk of accidental release of flammable mixtures and hydrofluoric acid

SALT LAKE CITY – (January 14, 2020) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a Clean Air Act settlement in which Big West Oil, LLC (Big West Oil) has agreed to pay a $344,364 penalty and address violations of Risk Management Plan requirements at its petroleum refining facility in North Salt Lake, Utah. The company has been cooperative in correcting all identified deficiencies and has also agreed to improve the maintenance of process equipment to reduce the possibility of an accidental release of hazardous chemicals at the facility.

“This agreement will improve the safety of those who live and work in North Salt Lake for years to come,” said EPA Region 8 Enforcement Director Suzanne Bohan. “Big West Oil has taken the necessary steps to improve the management of flammable mixtures and hydrofluoric acid at their facility and reduce the hazards of toxic chemicals to workers, the public, and the surrounding community.” 

The settlement, filed as a Consent Agreement on January 13, 2021, resulted from a 2016, EPA inspection at the Big West Oil facility that revealed several Clean Air Act Risk Management Plan violations related to the management of flammable mixtures and hydrofluoric acid; including deficiencies associated with process safety information, hazard analysis, mechanical integrity, and operating procedures.

This case is part of EPA’s National Compliance Initiative to reduce risks from chemical accidents, and it addresses compliance within an industry sector– petroleum refining – which can pose serious risks from such accidents. Following recommendations made by the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board in April of 2019, EPA Region 8 is focused on ensuring compliance with the Risk Management Plan Rule at petroleum refining facilities that store and process hydrofluoric acid.

The Big West Oil facility is subject to Clean Air Act Risk Management Plan regulations because it stores and processes large quantities of flammable mixtures and hydrofluoric acid, a hazardous substance that is highly toxic, and when released to air, may cause severe injury, burns, or death. The Risk Management Plan Rule, or Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act, requires facilities holding more than 10,000 pounds of flammable mixture or 1,000 pounds of hydrofluoric acid to develop a Risk Management Plan and submit that plan to EPA.

Risk Management Plans address: the proper design and maintenance of equipment such as pipes and vessels; emergency preparedness; and the ability to minimize releases that may occur. They also provide valuable information to local fire, police, and emergency response personnel to prepare for and respond to chemical emergencies. Making these plans available to the public also fosters communication and awareness to improve accident prevention and emergency response practices at the local level.

Click here for more on the article.

Reduce your risk of violations with the proper compliance training.

View all of our available training courses now and steer clear from unwanted violations like these.