Louisville rubber company faces $135,000 fine for toxic chemical leaks
Billy KobinA Louisville rubber manufacturer is facing more than $135,000 in fines for releasing thousands of pounds of a cancer-causing chemical in the past two years.
The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board could approve next week an agreement that requires American Synthetic Rubber Company to pay a fine of $135,375 for releasing nearly 4,000 pounds of 1,3-butadiene, a chemical compound using in making synthetic rubber.
The rubber company, located on Camp Ground Road in southwest Louisville, failed to take steps to prevent the release of a total of 3,931 pounds of 1,3-butadiene on two separate occasions in 2017 and 2018, according to documents from the Metro Air Pollution Control District.
The National Cancer Institute says exposure to the compound, which has a gasoline-like odor, mainly occurs among workers who breathe contaminated air on the job.
Exposure to 1,3-butadiene has consistently been associated with increased incidence of leukemia.
An official with American Synthetic Rubber did not immediately return a request for comment.
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American Synthetic Rubber reported the first release of 3,000 pounds of 1,3-butadiene on Sept. 29, 2017, according to documents.
That release happened after chemical heating and expanding occurred in a pipe that was not properly sealed, the air pollution control district reported.
On May 25, 2018, the company reported the second release, which involved 931 pounds of 1,3-butadiene and was caused by the chemical getting trapped in a pipe that "did not have overpressure relief," according to the air pollution control district.
After reviewing the cause of the two chemical releases, the Metro Air Pollution Control District determined that American Synthetic Rubber "did not sufficiently address the recommendations" from the September 2017 incident.
Following those recommendations "may have prevented the May 2018 release," according to the air pollution control district.
American Synthetic Rubber submitted documents in response, showing that pressure relief valves were eventually installed in pipes, according to documents.
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Metro Air Pollution Control District also said American Synthetic Rubber violated previously set emission standards for 1,3-butadiene from 2013 to 2016 without notifying the district or seeking prior approval from the district for modified emission requirements.
The Metro Air Pollution Control District eventually approved the rubber company's request to modify its emission goals under Louisville's Strategic Toxic Air Reduction program on Sept. 15, 2017.
That decision prompted outrage from public health groups and residents living near the company's plant who complained the exemption allowed the company to skirt the city's emissions standards.
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The STAR program was established in 2005 and requires companies that emit toxic chemicals to prove they are meeting health-related goals, said air district spokesman Thomas Nord.
If companies are not meeting the goals, they have to prove they are using "best available control technology" to bring their emission levels as low as possible, according to the air district.
The Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board will hold a Feb. 20 public hearing and possible vote on the proposed settlement with American Synthetic Rubber, which is a subsidiary of Michelin North America Inc. and makes synthetic rubber used in tire manufacturing.
The public hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in the air pollution control district's board room, 701 W. Ormsby Ave.
If the settlement is approved, American Synthetic Rubber would have until March 29 to pay the $135,375 fine to the Metro Air Pollution Control District.
Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030.