U.S. EPA fines conveyor equipment manufacturer $83,926 for toxic chemical reporting violations Pacoima company will also donate equipment to City of Burbank fire department

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined a Southern California conveyor equipment manufacturer $83,926 for failure to submit required toxic chemical reports, a violation of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

SDI Industries, located at 13000 Pierce Street in Pacoima, Calif., failed to submit timely, complete, and correct reports detailing the amounts of lead processed at its facility from 2002-2005.

“Facilities that process toxic chemicals such as lead must follow our reporting rules so residents and emergency response personnel are aware of possible chemical hazards in the local environment,” said Nathan Lau, Communities and Ecosystems Division associate director for EPA’s 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.”

The settlement will consist of a $19,197 cash penalty and a $64,729 supplemental environmental project that includes the donation of hazardous material response equipment to the City of Burbank Fire Department.

EPA inspectors discovered the violations as a result of a routine inspection in February 2004 and a follow-up investigation.

Federal community right-to-know laws require facilities processing, manufacturing, or otherwise using more than 100 pounds of lead to report releases of this highly toxic chemical on an annual basis to the EPA and the state. Although SDI exceeded these thresholds during 2002-2005, it failed to submit reports to the EPA for any of those years.

The facility uses lead in its manufacturing of conveyor equipment. Exposure to lead may result in high blood pressure, digestive problems, muscle and joint pain, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems, increased chance of illness during pregnancy, and harm to a fetus, including brain damage or death. Exposure to low levels of lead can severely harm children under the age of 6.

Each year the EPA compiles information submitted from the previous year regarding toxic chemical releases and produces a national Toxics Release Inventory database for public availability. This 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.