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NECCO Settles Clean Air Complaint for Cambridge Plant

Release Date: 08/13/2002
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1014

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the New England Confectionary Company (NECCO) will undertake a $160,000 environmental project and pay a $27,000 fine to settle a complaint regarding violations of clean air regulations. According to the complaint, the company failed to adequately plan for preventing and controlling accidental releases of ammonia from its Cambridge facility.

"This facility is in a very dense urban neighborhood, so it's particularly important that there be a good system for preventing hazardous chemical releases," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England Office. "The good news is that this settlement means NECCO will be going beyond what's required to make their new facility safe and clean."

NECCO uses liquid ammonia as a refrigerant in air conditioning and cooling equipment. A major release of ammonia from the facility could have health impacts on the surrounding neighborhood and/or lead to temporary evacuation. The facility is located near residences, a subway station, a community college, a shopping mall, a school, and a science museum. This facility had small accidental releases of ammonia in 1995 and 2000.

The federal Clean Air Act requires that companies with large amounts of hazardous chemicals on site must file risk management plans with EPA. The threshold amount for ammonia is 10,000 pounds. According to the complaint, the risk management plan filed by NECCO in June 1999 lacked several important components, and an EPA audit and compliance inspection in December 2000 confirmed that several elements of the plan were not being implemented at the plant.

NECCO is in the process of relocating to a new facility in Revere. Under the settlement, NECCO will pay a $26,910 penalty and will design and install an ammonia diffusion system in the Revere facility. The system, valued at approximately $160,000, will reduce the risks of releases of ammonia. Since the inspection, NECCO has improved its risk management systems at the Cambridge plant.