Pearson to pay $195,000 to settle Clean Air charges

WARREN – Pearson Composites LLC, a maker of fiberglass hulls, decks and other sailboat and powerboat components, will pay $195,000 to settle claims it violated the federal Clean Air Act, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The total is $69,349 less than the EPA had requested in its complaint last fall.
“Pearson’s manufacturing processes … release significant quantities of hazardous air pollutants, primarily styrene,” the EPA said Sept. 20, when it accused the company of violating five provisions of federal air-pollutant standards for boat builders and two provisions of its state clean air operating permit. The company violated emissions standards for its fiberglass open-molding operation, carpet adhesives and wood-finishing wash coats; work-practice standards for inspections and monitoring; and reporting requirements, by failing to submit compliance notifications in a timely manner, the agency said in its September complaint. (READ MORE.)
The problems were corrected by mid-February, within two months of the initial administrative order, the EPA said.
Styrene has been determined by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer to be a possible carcinogen, while both styrene and methyl methacrylate – another byproduct of the work at Pearson – are associated with adverse neurological affects and are potential asthma irritants, the EPA said.
“Hazardous air pollutants can pose a serious risk to workers and to the public,” Robert W. Varney, the agency’s regional administrator for New England, said in a statement today.
“EPA’s enforcement actions ensure that any violations are corrected swiftly. The penalties provide a financial disincentive for companies to violate again in the future.”
Additional information about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 1 office in Boston and clean-air standards across New England is available at epa.gov/region1/enforcement/air; information about the environmental regulation of marinas can be found at epa.gov/region1/marinas.