TONAWANDA, N.Y. (AP) — DuPont has agreed to pay $724,000 to settle Clean Air Act violations that contributed to a 2010 explosion that killed a contractor and burned another at its western New York plant.
An investigation determined the accident was caused by the ignition of flammable vinyl fluoride, used in making plastics, that had seeped inside a 10,000-gallon tank. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board and Environmental Protection Agency said DuPont had overlooked the hazards at the Tonawanda facility.
Since then, the EPA says Delaware-based DuPont has made nearly $7 million in safety improvements at the plant. DuPont, in a statement, said they include engineering and procedural safeguards to limit vapor emissions.
As part of the settlement announced Thursday, DuPont will buy vapor and radiation detection equipment for Tonawanda's Brighton Fire Department.