Ammonia releases to cost company $6.7 M

Washington — Food processor Columbus Manufacturing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbus Foods LLC, has agreed to pay a penalty and make significant upgrades to settle Clean Air Act violations, according to the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The case stems from two releases of anhydrous ammonia that occurred in 2009 at its manufacturing facility located in South San Francisco. According to the agencies, the releases were the result of the company’s failure of its general duty of care to identify hazards and to maintain a safe facility, and its failure to comply with regulatory requirements for process safety management under Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act. “This settlement appropriately penalizes Columbus for violations of the Clean Air Act that resulted in two illegal releases of poisonous gas that put the community at risk, including one release that caused the hospitalization of people in the affected community,” said Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general of the environment and natural resources division at the Department of Justice. “Today’s agreement will prevent future violations of the Clean Air Act safety standards by requiring Columbus to upgrade its refrigeration technology and emergency notification system.” As part of the consent decree, Columbus will pay a penalty of $685,446 and spend approximately $6 million converting its refrigeration system to a safer technology that uses glycol and ammonia. The company will also improve its alarm and ammonia release notification procedures. The first accidental ammonia release, in February 2009, sent 217 pounds of ammonia into the atmosphere. Six months later, in August 2009, the plant again released an ammonia cloud; this time approximately 200 pounds was released into the atmosphere. The August incident resulted in the evacuation of all facility employees and several neighboring businesses. Nearly 30 people from the downwind Genentech campus sought medical attention; 17 individuals were hospitalized, with one person remaining hospitalized for four days. In addition, off-ramps from Highway 101 and several local streets were shut down as a result of the release.