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ROCKLAND CONTRACTOR TO PAY ENVIRONMENTAL FINE

Release Date: 08/29/1996
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1064

BOSTON-- George Hall & Sons, Inc. of Rockland, Maine, has agreed to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to settle an enforcement action for releasing an ozone-depleting refrigerant into the atmosphere in violation of the Clean Air Act, the New England office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

According to EPA, Hall & Sons knowingly released chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the atmosphere by intentionally crushing a number of household refrigerators stockpiled at a waste transfer station. The incident occurred at the Tri County Solid Waste Management Organization's station in Union, Maine, where Hall & Sons was working under contract.

The settlement agreement permits the company to neither admit nor deny the factual allegations in the complaint.

The release of regulated refrigerants such as CFCs and halons depletes the stratospheric ozone layer. Stratospheric ozone shields the earth's surface from dangerous ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation. As depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer occurs, it is believed that penetration of UV-B radiation increases, resulting in potential health and environmental harm including increased incidence of certain skin cancers and cataracts, suppression of the immune system, damage to crops and aquatic organisms, increased formation of ground-level ozone, and increased weathering of outdoor plastics.

The manufacture of CFCs and other related substances is being phased out by more than 150 countries as part of the 1988 Montreal Protocol agreement. CFCs are currently regulated in the US under Title VI of the Clean Air Act which prohibits the release of these chemical compounds into the atmosphere from certain activities. Title VI also requires proper handling and recycling of CFCs and limits the sale of CFC refrigerants to certified air conditioning and refrigeration technicians