Skip to content

Business

Mass. Refrigeration Company to Pay Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations

by Kirsten E. Silven 25 Mar 2011
Mass. Refrigeration Company to Pay Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations

According to a statement by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Massachusetts refrigeration company Preferred Freezer Services has agreed to pay a fine of $75,000 for Clean Air Act violations that were found at three of its cold storage facilities, which are located in Raynham, Sharon and Westfield, Mass.

The settlement states that the company failed to follow federal regulations involving the use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) at each of the facilities. These regulations have been put in place to prevent CFCs from leaking out of industrial refrigeration equipment and damaging the stratospheric ozone layer

The New England branch of the EPA found that all three of the company's facilities did not verify that they had adequate CFC recovery or recycling equipment in place to handle the volatile organic compound, and an uncertified employee was also discovered to have repeatedly worked on equipment containing CFCs at both the Raynham and Sharon facilities. Despite the company's efforts to correct these issues in 2010, the fine has been issued due to the seriousness of the violations.

The company was also cited for failing to provide complete responses to the EPA's initial information request. Preferred Freezer Services owns and operates 25 refrigerated warehouse locations in the US that provide cold storage for producers and suppliers that handle a variety of frozen foods.

The stratospheric ozone layer is a protective part of the Earth's atmosphere that helps to protect the planet from dangerous ultraviolet radiation. We now know that CFCs cause damage to the stratospheric ozone layer when they are released into the atmosphere, which then allows detrimental levels of radiation to reach the Earth's surface.

This radiation has been linked to non-melanoma skin cancer, as well as the occurrence of malignant forms of melanoma and cataracts. In addition, it can have a harmful effect on our crops and certain species of marine life. As a result, CFCs have been heavily regulated since the late 1970s and more than 200 countries have agreed to cease production of CFCs entirely by 2020.

Image used as an example of a refrigeration company.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping