Firm Fined for Toxic-Waste Burning
A cement plant near Gorman, which is under review by state health authorities because it burns hazardous waste, has agreed to pay a $5,000 fine for burning illegal fuel last fall, Kern County air quality officials said Tuesday.
The penalty settlement between National Cement Co.’s Los Robles plant and the Kern County Air Pollution Control District was half the amount originally asked by air pollution officials, and far less than the maximum $43,000 that could have been assessed.
The company was accused of burning a petroleum-based material known as carbon black during a 42-day period last September and October. The company has permits to burn hazardous wastes as fuel in its cement-making process, but carbon black was not one of its permitted fuels.
A spokesman for the state Department of Health Services said tests showed the material apparently did not pose a health hazard to neighbors. But the spokesman added that the department is still evaluating broader health concerns about the plant’s emissions from hazardous waste incineration.
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