SEATTLE (Legal Newsline) — Ocean Gold Seafoods Inc. and Ocean Cold LLC will make efforts to cut their releases of ozone-depleting and greenhouses gases from allegedly leaking refrigeration equipment, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced.
Additionally, the seafood processing and cold storage companies will pay $495,000 in penalties for alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the EPA said.
These companies, according to claims, used a refrigerant with 1,800 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. Leaks from the refrigerating units can cause damage to the ozone layer, which can in turn result in cancer-causing ultraviolet solar radiation striking Earth.
“Because of this settlement, the Ocean companies are expected to cut their future ozone-depleting releases and reduce their future refrigerant emissions equivalent to approximately 47 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year, another step in our efforts to combat climate change,” said director Ed Kowalski of EPA’s Pacific Northwest Office of Compliance and Enforcement. “Investing in better equipment and maintenance to stop wasteful refrigerant leaks is good for our environment and good for business.”
The Ocean companies agreed to a program that will reduce refrigerant release, and they will also train employees in methods that better protect the environment, the EPA said.