U.S. EPA fines San Marcos dairy $6,178 for nitric acid reporting violation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined Hollandia Dairy Inc. of San Marcos, Calif. $6,178 for allegedly failing to submit a required toxic chemical report, in violation of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

Hollandia Dairy Inc., which is located at 622 East Mission Road in San Marcos failed to submit a report for nitric acid when it used more than 10,000 pounds of the chemical in 2005.

“Facilities that use, store and release toxic chemicals have a responsibility to the neighboring community to report their chemical releases and transfers,” said Nathan Lau, associate director, of the EPA’s Communities and Ecosystems Division for the Pacific Southwest region. “This penalty should remind others that we are maintaining a close watch over chemical reporting practices and are serious about enforcing community right-to-know laws.”

During a routine EPA inspection held August 24, 2006, the agency discovered that Hollandia Dairy Inc. failed to report use of nitric acid. The dairy was notified and has since submitted all required toxic chemical reports to the EPA. Nitric acid is a powerful irritant which can cause severe asthma attacks and eye damage.

Each year facilities submit reports to the EPA regarding toxic chemical releases from the previous year. The EPA compiles this information into a national Toxics Release Inventory or TRI database so that the public can access the data.

This TRI database estimates the amounts of each toxic chemical released to the environment, treated or recycled on-site, or transferred off-site for waste management and also provides a trend analysis of toxic chemical releases.