COLTON, Calif. (AP) — A rail leasing company has agreed to pay $5,000 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to immediately notify the release of ammonia at their Southern California facility last year.
The EPA said Tuesday that GATX Corp. will also donate a nearly $21,000 mercury analyzer as part of a settlement.
About 250 pounds of ammonia were accidentally released from a rail car repair facility in Colton in September 2008 by an employee who failed to follow company procedures for flaring ammonia from a tank car.
The EPA says GATX reported the chemical release more than 30 hours later.
Exposure to ammonia can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory system.