MA Launderer Settles VOC Charges

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently settled charges against Clean Uniforms and More, New Bedford, MA, for violations of the Clean Air Act, according to an agency news release. The deal, approved in federal district court concurrently with the EPA’s complaint, will require the company to pay a $200,000 penalty. Clean Uniforms also must implement air-pollution control equipment to curb emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from its industrial laundry operations. The company cooperated with the EPA throughout the settlement process, the release said.

Mark Bodzioch, president of Clean Uniforms and More, said that at this time he wouldn’t like to add anything further regarding the case.

When Clean Uniforms moved into its current plant in 1998, it didn’t apply for a permit that the EPA says is required under the new source review provisions of the Clean Air Act. It also installed new laundry equipment in the facility without including air-pollution control equipment.

The company launders a variety of products, including uniforms and mats as well as shop towels from machine shops, furniture manufacturers and printers. When the latter products are processed, they often contain VOCs that are released into the air as the towels are processed, washed and dried, the release said. VOCs include a variety of chemicals that may produce adverse health effects, including eye, nose and throat irritation and damage to the central nervous system. VOCs also contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, which is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen and VOCs in the presence of sunlight. Breathing ozone is associated with a number of health problems, particularly for people with lung problems, such as asthma.

While the quantity of VOCs on individual towels may be small, the total emissions of VOCs from laundry facilities processing many hundreds of pounds of towels may be significant, the release said.

Under the agreement, Clean Uniforms will make a significant investment to install a capture-and-control system to reduce VOC emissions from the laundering of print, furniture and shop towels by at least 85%. The system will capture emissions from towel-sorting areas, dryers, washers and wastewater treatment equipment and route them to a themal oxidizer for treatment. In addition to installing capture-and-control equipment, the decree requires Clean Uniforms to conduct emissions testing and to apply for proper permits.

In recent years, the EPA has conducted numerous inspections of industrial laundries across New England in an effort to curb Clean Air Act violations. The agency has taken similar enforcement actions against several other companies. Click here for details.