Kansas City, Kan.-The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) $70,000 to be used to assure the continued safe handling of anhydrous ammonia by conducting on-site audits, workshops, and follow-up safety assessments of agricultural retail facilities. EPA Regional Administrator Karl Brooks explained, “This grant is designed to prevent releases and protect the health and safety of area residents, employees at the facilities, emergency responders and the environment.” He said the grant will be used for outreach, education, and implementation of the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program. All fertilizer facilities that handle, process, or store more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia are subject to EPA’s chemical safety requirements. EPA Region 7 receives more accidental release reports for ammonia than for any other chemical. In addition to releases caused by transportation accidents, human error, and equipment failure, a number of releases have been caused by anhydrous ammonia thefts, because the chemical is a key ingredient in the illegal production of methamphetamine.
Correction: While Yara International ASA is taking an NOK 18 million write-down as a result of the planned sale of its 25 percent stake in Agrico Canada Ltd., the write-down in U.S. dollars is only $2.9 million, not $23.2 million as reported last week. The currency calculation error was due to the use of Euros instead of Kroners.