EPA: Hawaii Gas Failed to Report Chemical Release, Update Risk Management Plan
Federal regulators have fined the natural gas company $155,000.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Hawaii Gas $155,000 for deficiencies in its risk management plan regarding chemical releases, and for an unreported discharge聽of a toxic chemical at the company’s Kapolei facility on Oahu.
In September 2010, workers were using sodium hydroxide to neutralize waste acid in an enclosed pit on the natural gas company’s聽property.
A plant operator聽forgot to turn off the sodium hydroxide pump, according to Jeremy Johnstone, an EPA inspector, causing聽the odorless, white substance to overtop the containment system and flow into a storm channel along a road and into an injection well.
Sodium hydroxide.
Wikimedia Commons, Danny S.
Hawaii Gas released 3,585 pounds of sodium hydroxide, three times the level that requires reporting to the federal National Response Center, according to the EPA. The company did report the spill to state and local authorities, but it has agreed to pay a penalty of $19,000 for failing to report it to federal authorities.
Sodium hydroxide is highly corrosive and can cause severe burns to skin and eyes, according to . Inhaled at high quantities, it can cause swelling and spasms聽of airways and a dangerous build-up of lung fluid.
Johnstone said that the release of sodium hydroxide at the Kapolei facility didn’t damage the environment or harm workers.
Hawaii Gas was also fined $136,000 for shortcomings in its risk management plan, designed to prevent chemical accidents.
In January 2012, the EPA inspected the facility and conducted an audit of five years of company records.
Regulators found that Hawaii Gas failed to annually certify its operating procedures and provide employees with refresher training to make sure that they were adhering to the latest, best practices. Hawaii Gas also wasn’t conducting a compliance audit every three years, as required, and failed to implement recommendations from its most recent audit report, according to the EPA.
“Risk management plans are critical components of safety programs designed to prevent chemical accidents,” Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a press release. “They must be carried out diligently to protect workers, nearby residents and the local environment.”
Seventeen other facilities in Hawaii are required to have risk management plans for chemical releases, according to聽Johnstone. He said that nationally,聽the EPA issues frequent fines for violations of these plans.
