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U.S. EPA, KELLY MOORE SETTLE CASE FOR $169,898

Release Date: 8/31/2000
Contact Information: Leo Kay, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-2201

     San Carlos-based company fined for community-right-to-know violations

     SAN FRANCISCO   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Kelly Moore Paint Company, Inc. $169,898 for failing to file reports estimating its releases of toxic chemical compounds, a violation of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.  

     The company failed to properly report its releases of several chemical constituents of house paint in 1997 and 1998, including butyl acrylate, glycol ethers, ethylene glycol, methyl methacrylate, styrene, vinyl acetate and zinc compounds.  Over 5,000 pounds of toxic chemicals were released to the air during these two years most of which were glycol ethers, ethylene glycol and zinc.

     An EPA official discovered the violations during a routine inspection this year.

     "Facilities that use, store and release hazardous chemicals owe it to the neighboring community and their employees to inform the EPA and the state of their chemical releases," said Enrique Manzanilla,  EPA's regional Cross Media Division director. "This penalty should remind others that we are serious about enforcing community right-to-know laws."

     Federal law requires certain facilities using chemicals over certain amounts to file annual reports of chemical releases with the EPA and the state. The reports estimate the amounts of each toxic chemical released to the environment, treated or recycled on site, or transferred off-site for waste management.  Information is then compiled into a national database and made available to the public.  

     Each year the EPA publishes a report entitled the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release, which summarizes the prior year's submissions and provides detailed trend analyses of toxic chemical releases.  For more information on the program, call (800) 535-0202.  

     The U.S. EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can also be accessed via the
Internet at: www.epa.gov/enviro.  Further information about the TRI program can be found at: www.epa.gov/opptinitr/tri.