The respondent is the owner of a chemical manufacturing facility. On September 10, 2020, Complainant issued an information request under Section 114 of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) and Section 104(e) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9603, regarding the Facility to Respondent. Respondent responded to the information request on October 13, 2020.
The complainant sent additional questions pursuant to Section 114 of the CAA on May 26, 2021, to which the respondent responded on July 23, 2021. The information requests were issued in response to an incident on July 12, 2020, during which the #85 diaphragm cell in the #8 Circuit over-pressured due to the ignition of an explosive mixture of hydrogen and chlorine in the cell during startup, injuring four employees with concussive force, and releasing an estimated 115 pounds of chlorine.
Based on EPA’s investigation, EPA has determined that Respondent has the potential to store as much as 27,000,000 pounds of the toxic chemical chlorine in the form of liquefied chlorine gas at the Facility in pressurized storage vessels, ranging in capacity from 180,000 pounds to 700,000 pounds.
Count I – Failure to Comply With Process Hazard Analyses Requirements