A Yakima fruit company and a property management firm will have to pay $194,302 for violating regulations on handling ammonia.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday that Congdon Packing Co. and D&H Properties Yakima LLC agreed to the fine for the ammonia rule violations.
Both the EPA and a Congdon Orchards executive said there were no releases associated with a warehouse that Congdon Orchards leased from D&H Properties.
“What I can tell you is we were leasing the facility and we terminated the lease shortly after this ... That caused the owner to do a whole bunch of changes,” said Dick Woodin, president and CEO of Congdon Orchards and Congdon Packing Co. “There was no incident, no release, no problem. It was all related to non-timely reporting.”
A call to D&H Property’s Eagle, Idaho, office was not returned by press time.
Ammonia is used as a refrigerant in fruit warehouses, and leaks can cause chemical burns to skin, eyes and lungs, and in some cases death.
In a news release, the EPA stated that the owner and operator of the Yakima warehouse failed to keep safety information up to date, adequately address process hazard analysis recommendations, perform a process hazard analysis in a timely manner every five years, provide initial safety training for three employees, and replace and maintain equipment for safe operation.
Congdon Packing leased the warehouse from D&H Properties, and ended operations there in October 2021, the release said. D&H sold the refrigeration system and removed the ammonia.
Woodin said Congdon Packing will pay 60% of the fine, while D&H Properties will be responsible for the remainder.
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August 29, 2023 at 06:37AM
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Yakima fruit packer, property management company fined for ammonia rule violations - Yakima Herald-Republic
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