"Industrial facilities fined by EPA: Rubbertown plants cited for deficient records" is the headline to this story today in the Louisville Courier Journal. Some quotes:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited six Rubbertown-area industrial facilities for not having adequate plans for protecting neighbors from chemical disasters.Posted by Marcia Oddi at October 31, 2004 10:03 AMEPA and local regulators called the deficiencies mostly minor, involving record keeping. But a retired chemical plant environmental manager who reviewed the inspection reports for The Courier-Journal took issue with that characterization.
"To the public, I don't think these would be minor," said Carl Hilton, who retired from DuPont in 2002. Hilton said he was troubled that some of the record keeping shortcomings stemmed from what should be routine procedures. "Some of these things are very elementary."
The EPA review of "risk-management plans" in January at 10 industrial sites was the first part of a comprehensive audit of all Rubbertown-area facilities, which the federal agency promised last November.
That promise came after a West Jefferson County Community Task Force study found excessive levels of toxic chemicals in Louisville air.