Hercules Cement Co. fined for 2009 sulfur dioxide emissions violations

FROM THE EXPRESS TIMES

The Hercules Cement Co. must pay $31,394 for 2009 sulfur dioxide emissions and data validity violations at its Stockertown facility, state environmental officials announced Tuesday.
The company failed to adhere to the permitted limits, said Mike Bedrin, director of the Department of Environmental Protection's Northeast Region. The limits are designed to protect the environment and public health, the statement says.

The cement manufacturer’s kilns exceeded the permitted sulfur dioxide hourly average emissions limit of 500 parts per million for 170 hours during the second, third and fourth quarters of 2009.

The kilns are equipped with monitoring equipment, which provides continuous emissions data, DEP spokesman Kevin Sunday said.

Additionally, as part of the facility’s air quality permit, 90 percent of each month’s monitoring data must be valid. In June 2009, Sunday said 81 percent of the data was considered valid, due to a data handling system malfunction. Quality assurance, calibration testing and accuracy calculations are used to determine if a given hour’s worth of continuous emissions monitoring data reflects the actual emissions.

The fine will be paid to the state’s Clean Air Fund, Sunday said.

Hercules Cement Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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