Guardian is set to invest more than $70 million to control emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM) and sulfuric acid mist (H2SO4) from all of its 7 US flat glass manufacturing facilities. The company will also fund an environmental mitigation project valued at $150,000 to reduce particulate matter pollution in the San Joaquin Valley in California and pay a civil penalty of $312,000. This follows an announcement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) the it has reached a settlement with Guardian Industries Corp. to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at Guardian’s flat glass manufacturing facilities throughout the United States. Under the proposed settlement, “Air pollution from flat glass facilities can impact communities hundreds of miles away, which is why today’s announcement is so crucial to address pollution at the source and protect public health,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By investing in pollution control equipment and funding a mitigation project that will protect the health of low-income residents, Guardian is setting an example for the flat glass industry for how to control harmful air emissions at its facilities. This settlement is a great example of a cooperative, company-wide effort to reduce air pollution and will mean cleaner air for communities across the country, where glass manufacturing is currently a significant source of the air pollutants that cause serious lung and heart problems,” said Attorney General John C.Cruden for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
