The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with the Lima Refining Company to address violations of the Clean Air Act at its refinery in Lima, Ohio.
Under the settlement, LRC must pay a civil penalty of $19 million and implement an estimated $150 million in capital investments, including control technology expected to reduce emissions of benzene by an estimated 4.34 tons per year, other hazardous air pollutants (HAP) by 16.26 tons per year and other volatile organic compound emissions (VOC) by 219 tons per year.
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The Lima Refinery is surrounded by a community with environmental justice concerns.
“This settlement is part of an ongoing initiative to curtail illegal benzene and VOC emissions at refineries that have failed to allocate the necessary personnel and capital investments to ensure compliance with rules they have long been subject to,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
As part of the settlement, LRC will install one or more flash columns to reduce benzene in wastewater streams leading to its wastewater treatment plant and will cease operating, replace or upgrade other units at the refinery. LRC will also install six air pollutant monitoring stations to monitor air quality outside of the refinery fence line and make the results publicly available.
The United States’ complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement, alleges that LRC violated federal regulations limiting benzene in refinery wastewater streams, and HAP and VOC emissions at its Lima Refinery, as well as the general requirement to use good air pollution control practices.
Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans. Short-term inhalation exposure to benzene also may cause drowsiness, dizziness, headaches, as well as eye, skin and respiratory tract irritation and, at high levels, unconsciousness. Long-term inhalation exposure can cause various disorders in the blood, including reduced numbers of red blood cells and anemia in occupational settings.
Reproductive effects have been reported for women exposed by inhalation to high levels, and adverse effects on the developing fetus have been observed in animal tests.
VOCs, along with nitrous oxide, play a major role in the atmospheric reactions that produce ozone, which is the primary constituent of smog. Ground-level ozone exposure is linked to a variety of short- and long-term health problems, including difficulty breathing, aggravated asthma, reduced lung capacity and increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis.
This settlement is part of EPA’s and the Justice Department’s ongoing focus to assist communities that have been historically marginalized and disproportionately exposed to pollution.
The EPA investigated the case.
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