Contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902. 

DNREC issues penalty order to DuPont’s
Edge Moor plant for air pollution violations 

DOVER (Dec. 6, 2012) – DNREC Secretary  Collin O’Mara has issued a Notice of Administrative Penalty Assessment and Secretary’s Order to DuPont’s Edge Moor plant for violations of air quality regulations and the plant’s permit. The order includes a cash penalty of $7,000 and an additional $1,050 as cost recovery reimbursement to DNREC for expenses associated with the department’s investigation. 

DuPont’s Edge Moor Plant, located at 104 Hay Road in Wilmington,  manufactures titanium dioxide, a white pigment  used in the paint and paper industries. The facility includes numerous emission units and control devices, among them an ore roaster (“RX-1”) which has two cyclonic dust collectors and two baghouse filters used to control particulate matter emissions from the unit.  

On August 17, 2011, DuPont’s Edge Moor plant experienced opacity from the RX-1 stack that was greater than 20 percent for more than 3 minutes – a violation of the air quality regulation and the plant’s permit. It was ultimately determined that holes in the filter assembly (Venturis and bag filters) were caused by abnormal pulser/blow piping air flow direction. The Edge Moor plant has since added the changing out of the piping/bag filter to its preventive maintenance plan, as well as an adjusted receipt of electronic notifications of scheduled maintenance, to prevent similar issues in the future.

The Secretary’s Order order can be found on the DNREC website at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.

DuPont’s Edge Moor plant has 30 days to request a public hearing.

Vol. 42, No. 468