Karmactive Staff
The EPA settlement with BCP Ingredients Inc. in Verona, Missouri addresses violations related to ethylene oxide emissions. BCP Ingredients Inc., a manufacturer of animal feed additives, released ethylene oxide into the community’s air for over seven hours straight in April 2022. Now they’re paying for it – literally and figuratively.
“In addition to violating the Clean Air Act, BCP’s facility is located in a community that has environmental justice concerns and increased exposure to pollutants from several sources,” EPA Region 7 Enforcement and Compliance Division Director David Cozad said. “This settlement represents EPA and the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to protecting all communities, especially those overburdened by environmental harm.”
Let’s break down what actually happened: BCP makes choline chloride, which animals need in their feed. The process requires ethylene oxide, a chemical that’s both toxic and flammable. When EPA inspectors showed up in June 2022, they found a facility that wasn’t following basic safety rules. The alarms that should warn about dangerous chemical releases? Broken. The plans for handling accidents? Missing. The safety audits that should happen regularly? Never done. Even the ventilation system lacked proper documentation.
The EPA’s inspection revealed six specific violations of the Clean Air Act. First, BCP failed to develop operating procedures and conduct hazard analyses essential for preventing and responding to accidental ethylene oxide releases. Second, they didn’t fix their malfunctioning EtO alarms, which led to the April 2022 release continuing unchecked for over seven hours. Third, they skipped required audits of their Clean Air Act compliance and didn’t fix problems found in previous audits. Fourth, they failed to conduct annual coordination with emergency responders. Fifth, they had no written safety information for the facility’s ventilation system. Finally, they didn’t update their Risk Management Plan every five years as required by law.
The price tag for these violations comes to $650,000 total. That includes a $300,000 civil penalty and some serious tech upgrades – a new scrubber system that will catch 16,550 pounds of ethylene oxide before it hits the air. The remaining $350,000 goes directly to helping the community, with new emergency equipment for Verona’s firefighters and two mobile health clinics that will provide localized medical services through the Cox Health Foundation to communities at or near the facility, including the cities of Verona, Aurora, and Monett, and Barry and Lawrence counties in Missouri.
About that chemical release – ethylene oxide isn’t something you want floating around your neighborhood. The EPA classifies it as a hazardous air pollutant because breathing it can hurt you right away and cause cancer over time. That’s why the Clean Air Act requires facilities using it to have detailed safety plans and emergency procedures.
BCP has already fixed the problems under a compliance order from September 2022. But the settlement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, goes further. It gives local residents 30 days to comment before a judge makes it final.
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This case fits into a bigger picture of EPA enforcement in 2024. The agency is focusing on facilities that risk releasing hazardous substances, particularly in communities with multiple sources of pollution. The EPA has identified reducing risks from accidental releases of hazardous substances at industrial and chemical facilities as one of six National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives in 2024.
The Risk Management Plan regulations under the Clean Air Act require facilities using regulated toxic and flammable substances to create comprehensive plans identifying potential chemical accident effects, preventive steps, and emergency response procedures. These plans provide crucial information to local fire, police, and emergency response personnel for preparing and responding to chemical emergencies in their community.
The settlement requires BCP to implement specific improvements to their facility operations and provide resources to benefit the surrounding community. For the people of Verona and surrounding towns, this includes emergency response equipment and access to localized medical services through the mobile health clinics.
Local residents can learn more about the EPA’s work on chemical safety through their Risk Management Program guidelines or explore environmental justice resources on the agency’s website.
