Rhodia Inc.

Bellevue, WA: (Apr-26-07) Rhodia Inc. faced a federal lawsuit accusing it of violating the Clean Air Act. The suit alleged that Rhodia's plants produce acid by burning sulfur-containing compounds, creating sulfur dioxide. Rhodia also made modifications to its plants, which increased emissions of sulfur dioxide, without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution control equipment. The EPA requires major sources of air pollution to obtain such permits before making changes that would result in a significant emissions increase of any pollutant. In a settlement reached, Rhodia Inc. agreed to pay a $2 million penalty and spend approximately $50 million on air pollution controls at eight production plants in four states across the country, making it the first sulfuric acid manufacturer in the nation to agree to a company-wide "global" compliance agreement. As a result of these actions, actual emissions at some of the Rhodia plants in Texas, Louisiana, California and Indiana will decrease by more than 90% or by 19,000 tons per year. The Justice Department and the EPA expect to reach similar agreements with other sulfuric acid manufacturers. [PR INSIDE: SULFUR POLLUTION]

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Published on May-2-07