Curing Agent Manufacturer Settles Clean Air Act Case

The Environmental Protection Agency/Pacific Southwest Region office has fined Green Products Co. of Richmond, Calif., $2,000 for alleged Clean Air Act

The Environmental Protection Agency/Pacific Southwest Region office has fined Green Products Co. of Richmond, Calif., $2,000 for alleged Clean Air Act violations tied to production and field use of Plasticure, a concrete curing and sealing product that released more volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, than allowed under federal law. It is the Pacific Southwest regional office’s first enforcement of the Clean Air Act architectural coating standards section, which limits the VOC content of products such as exterior and interior paints, industrial maintenance coatings, wood and roof coatings, and primer and traffic paints. Agency officials estimate that from September 2001 to November 2004, emissions from the use of Plasticure released approximately 218 tons more VOCs than the Clean Air Act allows. Plasticure was manufactured in Richmond and used in Reno, Nev., during the time of the violation.

Notes Deborah Jordan, director of the Air Division in the EPA’s San Francisco office, Volatile organic compounds can cause smog levels that violate air quality standards. VOCs combine with other chemicals in the air on warm, sunny days and form ground Û level ozone, or smog. Smog can cause breathing problems and eye irritation, and reduce lung function and resistance to infection.