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A 109-year-old Missouri cement maker has agreed to a $300,000 upgrade of its facility and a $22,000 fine to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act.
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Continental Cement Co. |
| The Hannibal, MO, company has been in operation since 1903. The current facility dates to 2006. |
Continental Cement Co. LLC, of Hannibal, MO, will complete a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) valued at $300,000 at its plant. SEPs are environmentally beneficial projects that a violator agrees to perform in exchanged for a reduced fine.
The SEP is part of a consent agreement with EPA Region 7 that also requires Continental Cement to pay a $22,025 civil fine.
The agreement resolves alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act in 2007 and 2008.
Clinker Storage Cited
The SEP will eliminate Continental Cement’s outside clinker storage pile along with the associated material handling system and will replace it with enclosed conveyors and a dust controlled truck load-out.
The project will reduce the generation of particulate matter emissions at the facility by 15 tons per year, EPA said.
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Magnus Manske / Wikimedia Commons |
| The company will replace its outside clinker storage pile and associated material handling system with enclosed conveyors and a dust-controlled truck load-out. |
“Reducing the amount of particulate matter generated at the facility will result in cleaner air for the employees working on site and for the surrounding community,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks.
“This Supplemental Environmental Project sets an example for similar companies to follow to protect the quality of our air.”
Continental Cement exceeded the nitrogen oxide emission limit during 2007 and 2008, in violation of the federally approved Missouri State Implementation Plan and the Clean Air Act. Continental Cement neither met the limit nor installed or operated any approved alternatives during 2007 and 2008.
Nitrogen oxide emissions contribute to the formation of ground level ozone and acid rain. Children, the elderly, people with lung diseases, and people who work or exercise outside are at risk for adverse effects from ozone.
When deposited on land and in water bodies, nitrogen oxide can result in a wide variety of indirect harmful effects on plants, soils, wildlife, water quality and fish.
By agreeing to the settlement, Continental Cement has certified that it is in compliance with the Clean Air Act.
About the Company
Continental Cement is a privately owned firm that has manufactured cement at the Hannibal location since 1903. The original plant was replaced in 1966, and that facility was replaced in 2006.
The new plant’s 622-foot-long kiln was the second-longest cement kiln in the world at the time, annually producing more than 600,000 tons of clinker.
An on-site quarry provides both limestone and shale, which constitute 92% of cement raw materials. The plant employs 225 people.
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