116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
EPA: C6-Zero broke federal law before and after December explosion
Iowa DNR says C6-Zero won’t get cleanup extension after missing deadlines
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filed a notice of violation against C6-Zero for failing to alert first responders and the state about dangerous chemicals and vapors at its plant in Marengo before a Dec. 8 explosion and fire.
The EPA said the company broke federal law by not giving safety data sheets to first responders and not issuing an emergency notice after the explosion that injured nine employees — at least two seriously — and caused a fire that took Eastern Iowa firefighters 18 hours to extinguish.
“C6-Zero Iowa’s failure to comply with this important community right-to-know requirement had serious consequences,” according to a letter the EPA signed Monday by David Cozad, director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance division of the EPA’s Region 7, based in Kansas City.
C6-Zero also failed to send an emergency notice after the explosion to local officials so they would know what kind of cleanup would be required, according to the notice.
C6-Zero and its owner Howard Brand III were attempting to dissolve used roofing shingles into oil, fiberglass and sand at the facility. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources had not permitted the process, but Brand already was in a pilot phase when a mechanical error ignited flammable vapor and caused the blast.
If first responders had known before the explosion what chemicals were in the plant, they would have known they needed pressurized breathing masks and powder or foam to fight the fire, the EPA said in the letter.
Firefighters also would have known “vapors produced in the fire are flammable, heavier than air, and can cause a flashback fire danger,” Cozad wrote. “Water jet and heavy streams of water should not be used because they can spread the fire.”
One of the chemicals stored at C6-Zero was a Class 2 oxidizer, which will “increase the burning rate of combustible materials with which they come in contact,” the letter states.
The EPA says it will consider “the appropriate enforcement response” for the alleged violations, adding the agency has authority to pursue civil penalties of up to $67,500 per day for failing to submit safety data sheets and $27,000 per violation for failing to submit an emergency notice after an incident.
C6-Zero spokesman Mark Corallo said Wednesday the company is reviewing the EPA letter. “We have been working with the EPA and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to ensure compliance with all laws and regulations,” he said in an email.
No cleanup extension
The Iowa DNR has refused to grant C6-Zero an extension for cleaning up soil and water contaminated by the explosion and fire. The company missed a March 31 deadline for completing tasks listed in a site assessment plan.
“As of the date of this letter, the requirements of the SAP have not been completed, including major items such as groundwater monitoring, PFAS sampling, disposal of frac tank waste, and disposal of contaminated soil,” Michael Sullivan, the Iowa DNR’s Solid Waste and Contaminated Sites supervisor, wrote in a letter Monday to Brand and C6-Zero.
The company asked to have until June 21 to complete a site assessment report, which had been due April 1. The Iowa DNR said no.
“Completion of the requirements in the SAP and submittal of the Remedial Action Plan are not on schedule and extensions will not be granted going forward.”
A Feb. 6 court order required C6-Zero to pay $330,000 to EcoSource, a Des Moines-area contractor, to dispose of the contaminated water and soil. The company also had to put $75,000 into a trust to pay for further work.
PFAS remain
The state agreed to pay up to $834,000 to contractors to remove toxic “forever chemicals” from water in a 12-million-gallon basin holding runoff from the fire. The perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the basin came from firefighting foam used to fight the blaze.
Contractors TetraSolv and Rain for Rent finished their work March 18 and pumped the treated water into the Iowa River, Iowa DNR spokeswoman Tammie Krausman said in a Wednesday email to The Gazette.
Tests of residual surface — non-drinking — water done March 20 show PFAS levels still are high. Combined perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were at 100 parts per trillion, compared with the EPA’s cap for these chemicals in drinking water was 4 parts per trillion, according to test results provided by the state.
“The results of the post-treatment PFAS samples are not unexpected due to the concentration of the water and the chemistry that happens with PFAS,” Krausman wrote.
DNR Letter to C6-Zero 4.10.2023 by Gazetteonline on Scribd
Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com
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