Displaying items by tag: Environmental Protection Agency
US: Continental Cement’s Hannibal plant has been awarded Energy Star certification by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To qualify for the certification the cement producer was required to perform in the top 25% of cement plants nationwide for total energy efficiency (thermal and electrical) and meet environmental performance levels set by the EPA.
“Continental Cement Company is pleased to accept EPA’s Energy Star certification in recognition of our energy efficiency efforts,” said Matt Helms, plant manager at the unit.
To earn the Energy Star certification Continental Cement established an energy management policy, it identified operating characteristics and energy usage, it promoted energy efficiency and it followed the Energy Star guidelines for energy management.
Irish Cement fined for dust emissions in December 2017
10 December 2018Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined Euro4000 for dust emissions in December 2017. The subsidiary of CRH pleaded guilty at Limerick District Court to breaking the terms of the industrial licence at its plant in Limerick in early December 2017, according to the Irish Times newspaper. The cement producer reportedly unsuccessfully attempted to clear a build-up of dust in the plant’s kiln. A ‘significant’ amount of dust polluted the local neighbourhood subsequently leading to 21 complaints to the Environment Protection Agency. The cement producer was fined previously in mid-2018 for dust emissions occurred in April and May 2017.
Environment Protection Agency shuts production line at Kohat Cement
13 November 2018Pakistan: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shut one of Kohat Cement’s production lines for emitting too much dust, following local complaints. The EPA visited the company’s plant and found that Line A at the unit was emitting particulate matter ‘much’ above legal limits, according to the Balochistan Times. The other two lines at the plant were unaffected.
Irish Cement fined for dust emissions
09 July 2018Ireland: Irish Cement has been fined for dust emissions at its Limerick plant. The subsidiary of CRH was convicted by a local court of breaching its industrial emissions licence in April and May 2017 due to ‘fugitive dust emissions,’ according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. The cement producer pleaded guilty to the charges brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it has been fined Euro1250.
During the court session it was revealed that on one of the days of the dust emissions there were dry conditions with a north-easterly wind that exacerbated the situation. There was also a dust leak as a result of a missing bolt from one of the chutes in a clinker silo as well as a number of infrastructural issues. Irish Cement says it has implemented a number of remedial measures such as replacing the missing bolt and replacing gravel around the site with grass or concrete. It has also conducted a risk-assessment of the whole site. The producer committed a similar offence in 2006.
Head of Environmental Protection Agency quits
09 July 2018US: Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has resigned. The decision follows investigations into his security spending and other expenses, according to the Associated Press. In his resignation letter Pruitt said he had no regrets. He will be replaced by acting administrator Andrew Wheeler.
CalPortland awarded 2018 Energy Star Partner of the Year
26 April 2018US: CalPortland has been awarded the 2018 Energy Star Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). It received the award for its commitment to high-level leadership in energy management throughout the company.
Key 2017 accomplishments for the award include: reaching a 16% improvement in 2017 from a baseline year of 2003 for cumulative savings of US$109m; promoting energy management across the US cement industry through the chief executive officer’s leadership of the trade association and an offer of the company’s assistance to others in the industry; earning EPA’s Energy Star plant certification for two cement plants where one was recently purchased and required extensive upgrades and energy improvements to qualify in less than two years; expanding energy management into its fleet of ready mix concrete trucks by 118 units that run on compressed natural gas; continuing to invest in operations through new plant hardware such as a high efficiency separator for a mill, efficient new equipment to improve raw feed processing, and computational fluid dynamic software to better manage process air and material flows; developing innovative methods for training employees and motivating them to manage energy in their work; and outreaching to inform employees, over 106,000 community members and schools, competitors, and others on how they can manage energy and use Energy Star to save.
The latest award is the 14th consecutive recognition, from 2005 to 2018, by US EPA Energy Star for CalPortland.
Holcim Midlothian air pollution settlement closes
18 April 2018US: A US$2.3m air pollution settlement in 2006 from the Holcim US Midlothian cement plant in Texas has ended. The Sue Pope Pollution Reduction Fund has made its last donation of about US$75,000 to the Midlothian school district’s special needs programs, according to the Dallas Morning News newspaper. The final payment came from interest remaining from the original settlement between Holcim US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Downwinders at Risk environmental group. As part of the deal Downwinders at Risk agreed to stop fighting Holcim’s plans to expand cement production at the site in return for US$2.25m funding towards local projects and an understanding that the cement plant would upgrade its emission filters.
US: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded CalPortland the 2018 Energy Star Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership and superior contributions to Energy Star. CalPortland’s accomplishments will be recognized by the EPA and the Department of Energy at a ceremony in Washington, DC on 20 April 2018.
Its key accomplishments in 2017 include: promoting energy management across the US cement industry through the chief executive officer’s leadership of a trade association and an offer of the company’s assistance to others in the industry; earning the EPA’s Energy Star plant certification for two cement plants where one was recently purchased and required extensive upgrades and energy improvements to qualify in less than two years; and continuing to invest in operations through new plant hardware such as a high efficiency separator for a mill, efficient new equipment to improve raw feed processing, and computational fluid dynamic software to better manage process air and material flows. The company also developed innovative methods for training employees and motivating them to manage energy in their work. In its outreach work it informed employees and over 106,000 community members and schools, competitors and others about energy management and the Energy Star program.
LafargeHolcim cement plants in the US awarded Energy Star
09 February 2018US: Two LafargeHolcim US cement plants have been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star award. The EPA recognised the Holly Hill plant in South Carolina and the Devil’s Slide plant in Morgan, Utah.
“Receiving the Energy Star award this year at two sites is an affirmation of the hard work all our employees are devoting every day to meeting our environmental goals,” said John Stull, chief executive officer (CEO), US Cement.
This recognition is the eighth time the EPA has awarded both the Holly Hill and Devil’s Slide plants with the Energy Star award since 2009.
Ireland: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started legal action against Irish Cement’s for alleged breaches of its operating licence at its Limerick plant. A court summons is related to dust ‘blowouts’ from the plant, according to the Limerick Leader newspaper. The case is scheduled to come before the Limerick District Court in early March 2018. The EPA investigated dust emissions from the plant in April 2017.