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EPA settles with Gunite; includes $69,510 penalty and environmental project
Release Date: 6/29/2005
Contact Information:
CONTACT: Kären Thompson, (312) 353-8547
For Immediate Release
No. 05-OPA102
CHICAGO (June 29, 2005) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 recently settled a civil administrative complaint against Gunite Corp. of Rockford, Ill., for violations of federal rules on PCBs. The company will pay a fine of $69,510 and complete an environmental project costing at least $48,300.
Gunite was cited in nine counts for failure to:
- develop and maintain records and annual document logs in the years 1999-2002;
- keep records of inspections and maintenance history for six PCB transformers;
- register its PCB transformers with EPA.
In addition to paying the fine, Gunite has agreed to dispose of all four PCB transformers that remain on the property and any residual oil or liquid in them as its environmental project. The company will submit documents to EPA throughout the removal process to ensure that all PCB disposal regulations are met.
PCBs are a group of toxic chemicals, once widely used in industry as coolants and lubricants. Congress banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1979 because of evidence that they accumulate in the environment- including in fish and birds-and present a health hazard.
Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, EPA regulates the proper cleanup, disposal, marking, record-keeping, storage and limited use of PCBs to protect the public from these potentially dangerous chemicals.
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