Hercules Cement Co. Faces $31K in DEP Fines

A Stockertown cement company faces more than $31,000 in fines for emissions violations, the state Department of Environmental Protection has announced.

will pay a $31,394 fine for sulfur dioxide emissions violations and data availability problems at its facility, according to a consent order and agreement announced today by the Department of Environmental Protection.

"Facilities that emit air pollutants, like sulfur dioxide, must adhere to the permitted limits, which are designed to protect both the environment and public health," DEP Northeast Regional Director Mike Bedrin said.

The company, located at 501 Hercules Drive, manufactures cement and cement products used by construction and contracting companies throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Products include a wide array of cement types for all industrial needs such as powder coat, varnishes, stains, glazes, lusters, lacquers, sealers, shellacs, miscellaneous finishes, concrete, mortars, plasters, cement and lime.

According to the DEP, the cement manufacturer's kilns exceeded the permitted sulfur dioxide hourly average emissions limit of 500 parts per million for 170 hours during the second, third and fourth quarters of 2009.

The kilns are equipped with monitoring equipment, which provides continuous emissions data.

Additionally, as part of the facility's air quality permit, 90 percent of each month's monitoring data must be valid.

For the month of June 2009, only 81 percent of the data was considered valid, due to a data handling system malfunction.

Quality assurance, calibration testing and accuracy calculations are used to determine if a given hour's worth of continuous emissions monitoring data reflects the actual emissions.

The fine will be paid to the state's Clean Air Fund.