Reduce Hazards from Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing

United States Takes Action to Reduce Hazards from Phosphoric Acid Manufacturing At Louisiana Facility

According to EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, mining and mineral processing industries produce more toxic and hazardous waste than any other facilities sector. Based on national enforcement effort, EPA pays more attention on phosphoric acid facilities due to high contamination risk from facility waste waters to nearby areas, rivers and local lake that cause fish kills. For instance, 65 million gallons of acidic waste water were released from the Mosaic Riverview facility into Tampa Bay that killed a massive local fish. Therefore, EPA starts to investigate total of twenty phosphoric acid facilities in seven states.

Recently, “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) announced that PCS Nitrogen has agreed to reduce air emissions from phosphoric acid production at its facility in Geismar, La”

“Reducing pollution from mining and mineral processing operations is one of EPA’s national enforcement initiatives because these facilities release more toxic chemicals than any other sector,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “This settlement will reduce millions of pounds of hazardous air pollutants, ensuring that the residents of Geismar Louisiana have cleaner air.” 

Under this settlement, the PCS must prevent the release of 15 million pounds of hydrogen fluoride, a hazardous air pollutant annually and plus a civil penalty of $198,825.30.  Therefore, PCS Nitrogen complies with EPA and LDEQ regulation by using scrubbers to control air emissions from phosphoric acid processing equipment.

More information on the settlement: www.epa.gov/enforcement/waste/cases/pcsnitrogen.html

SOURCE: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

 Reference: https://www.pollutiononline.com/doc/united-states-hazards-phosphoric-acid-louisiana-facility-0001?sectionCode=News&templateCode=EnhancedStandard&user=2886583&source=nl:37328

Categorised in: EPA