March 07, 2022
The EPA recently released its 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows that environmental releases of TRI chemicals by facilities covered by the program declined by 10% between 2019 and 2020. The 2020 TRI National Analysis summarizes TRI chemical waste management activities, including releases, that occurred during calendar year 2020. More than 21,000 facilities report annually on over 800 chemicals they release into the environment or otherwise manage as waste. EPA, states, and tribes receive TRI data from facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste management.“EPA is encouraged by the continued decrease in releases of toxic chemicals reported to the Toxics Release Inventory,” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “Making this information publicly available also incentivizes companies to reduce pollution and gives communities tools to act locally – particularly underserved communities that have historically been disproportionately impacted by pollution.”
This 2020 Analysis includes enhancements to make data more useful and accessible to communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns. EPA has added demographic information to the “Where You Live” mapping tool, making it easy to overlay maps of facility locations with maps of overburdened and vulnerable communities. Community groups, policymakers, and other stakeholders can use this information to identify potential exposures to air and water pollution, better understand which communities are experiencing a disproportionate pollution burden and take action at the local level.
To assist communities with reducing pollution, EPA is offering $23 million in grant funding opportunities for states and Tribes to develop and provide businesses with information, training, and tools to help them adopt pollution prevention (P2) practices. For the first time, approximately $14 million in grant funding provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is available with no cost sharing/matching requirement, increasing access to funding for all communities. These grants are a critical component of the President Biden’s Justice40 initiative by providing a meaningful benefit to communities impacted by legacy pollution issues. As such, EPA will administer this program in accordance with this initiative to ensure at least 40% of the benefits are delivered to underserved communities.
EPA is hosting a public webinar on March 23, 2022, highlighting the findings and trends from the 2020 TRI National Analysis and explaining the interactive features of the National Analysis website.
New Tools
In addition to the new community mapping tools, the National Analysis also includes a new map in the data visualization dashboard that displays international transfers of chemical waste by facilities in each state. The map includes information on the facility that shipped the waste, the destination country, and how the waste was managed in that country.
Additionally, the National Analysis includes a new profile of the cement manufacturing sector and the addition of greenhouse gas reporting information in certain sector profiles. Users will be able to track greenhouse gas emissions for electric utilities, chemical manufacturing, cement manufacturing, and other sectors. This section will also include information on the benefits of source reduction in these industries.
Notable Trends in 2020
Facilities that report to TRI avoided releasing into the environment more than 89 percent of the chemical-containing waste they created and managed during 2020 by using preferred practices such as recycling, energy recovery, and treatment. The 2020 Analysis showcases these industry best practices for preventing waste creation and reducing pollution. Facilities reported initiating nearly 3,000 new source reduction activities. EPA encourages facilities to learn from their counterparts’ best practices by using EPA’s Pollution Prevention Search Tool and adopt additional methods for reducing pollution.
The report also includes a discussion of chemical releases into the environment, including air releases, which decreased by 52 million pounds from 2019 to 2020, continuing a long-term trend, as well as summaries of regional chemical waste management activities, illustrating the geographic diversity of U.S. industrial operations.
PFAS Reporting
The 2020 Analysis is also the first to feature reporting on the 172 per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to TRI by the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Facilities reported managing 800,000 pounds of these chemicals in 2020, but of that, only around 9,000 lbs were reported as releases. Most of the production-related PFAS waste was reported by hazardous waste management facilities or chemical manufacturers, and most releases of PFAS were reported by the chemical manufacturing sector.
EPA continues to work to better understand the seemingly limited scope of PFAS reporting. The agency has used existing data to generate lists of potential producers and recipients of PFAS waste, and has contacted facilities with potential reporting errors, as well as those that were expected to report but did not.
EPA also plans to enhance PFAS reporting under the TRI by proposing a rulemaking this summer that would, among other changes, remove the eligibility of the de minimis exemption for PFAS. The de minimis exemption allows facilities that report to TRI to disregard certain minimal concentrations of chemicals in mixtures or trade name products. If finalized, this proposal would also make unavailable the de minimis exemption with regard to providing supplier notifications to downstream TRI facilities for PFAS and persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals.
Because PFAS are used at low concentrations in many products, the elimination of the de minimis exemption will result in a more complete picture of the releases and other waste management quantities for these chemicals.
New Draft Toxicological Profile Focuses on Beryllium
A new draft toxicological profile for beryllium is now available for review and public comment from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Beryllium is a metal that is used in many applications in the defense, aerospace, nuclear, telecommunications, and medical industries. OSHA estimates that 62,000 workers are potentially exposed to beryllium in more than 7,000 workplaces in the United States. Workers in the beryllium manufacturing, fabricating, or reclaiming industries are at high risk of exposure to the metal, and most beryllium exposures occur in the workplace, according to an ATSDR information sheet. The agency stresses the importance of following health and safety guidelines and wearing personal protective equipment when working with beryllium.Beryllium sensitization, an immune response that can lead to serious health problems; chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a lung disease caused by inhaling airborne beryllium; and lung cancer are common adverse health effects associated with beryllium exposure. Symptoms of CBD can include shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, fever, and night sweats. The International Agency for Research on Cancer lists beryllium as a Group 1 carcinogen, the agency’s designation for agents that carry sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans (PDF). The National Toxicology Program lists beryllium and beryllium compounds as “known to be human carcinogens” (PDF).
The draft toxicological profile for beryllium is available for download from the ATSDR website. New draft toxicological profiles for chlorodibenzofurans, a family of chemicals; chloromethane, also known as methyl chloride; 1,2-dichloroethane, which is primarily used in the manufacture of plastic and vinyl products; the flammable, colorless liquid methyl tert-butyl ether; and n-nitrosodimethylamine, a chemical now made in small amounts for research purposes only, are also available. Comments on the draft profiles are due by May 23.
ATSDR toxicological profiles characterize the toxicology and adverse health effects information for hazardous substances. The peer-reviewed profiles identify and review the key literature describing substances’ toxicological properties. Information on substances’ potential for human exposure; chemical and physical properties; regulations and guidelines; and production, import, use, and disposal can also be found in ATSDR’s toxicological profiles. A full list of toxic substances with published profiles is available on the agency’s website.
EPA Takes Next Step to Keep Chlorpyrifos Out of Food, Protecting Farmworkers and Children’s Health
As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect human health, including that of children and farmworkers, the EPA is taking the next step to discontinue use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food by denying objections to EPA’s rule revoking all chlorpyrifos tolerances."Today’s action shows how EPA continues to put the health and safety of the public first, particularly that of children and farmworkers” said Assistant Administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Michal Freedhoff. “After more than a decade of studying a large body of science, EPA is taking the next step towards the cancellation of the use of chlorpyrifos on food.”
In August 2021, EPA issued a final rule revoking all tolerances—which establish an amount of a pesticide that is allowed on food—for chlorpyrifos. Previously, chlorpyrifos was used for a large variety of agricultural uses, including soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower, and other row crops. It has been found to inhibit an enzyme, which leads to neurotoxicity, and has also been associated with potential neurodevelopmental effects in children.
EPA issued the August 2021 final rule in response to the Ninth Circuit Court’s order directing the agency to issue a final rule in response to Pesticide Action Network North America and Natural Resources Defense Council’s 2007 petition. This petition requested that EPA revoke all chlorpyrifos tolerances because they were not safe.
In issuing the final rule, EPA found it could not determine that there is a reasonable certainty of no harm from aggregate exposure to chlorpyrifos—including food, drinking water, and residential exposure—based on available data and considering its registered uses. EPA’s evaluation indicated that registered uses of chlorpyrifos result in exposures exceeding the safe levels of exposure, and thus have the potential to result in adverse effects.
After issuing the August 2021 final rule and consistent with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, EPA provided an opportunity for any person to file an objection to any aspect of the final rule and request a hearing on those objections. The deadline for all objections and hearing requests was Oct. 29, 2021. The concerns raised in the objections include the scope of the revocation of tolerances, economic and environmental impacts of the revocation, and the implementation timeframe.
Under the recent action and after careful consideration, EPA is denying all objections, hearing requests, and requests to stay the final rule filed during the period for submitting responses to the final rule. EPA will also provide a copy of its response to objections and the accompanying order in the chlorpyrifos final rule docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2021-0523 at www.regulations.gov.
In addition to the response to objections, EPA has issued letters to the registrants of chlorpyrifos products with food uses confirming revocation of the tolerances and indicating cancellation and label amendment options. These options include the ability for registrants to submit registration amendments to remove food uses from product labels or submit a voluntary cancellation for products where all uses are subject to the tolerance revocation. For questions related to disposal of chlorpyrifos, please visit Frequent Questions About the Chlorpyrifos 2021 Final Rule.
For registrations not voluntarily cancelled, EPA intends to issue a Notice of Intent to Cancel under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act to cancel registered food uses of chlorpyrifos associated with the revoked tolerances.
Chlorpyrifos use has been in decline due to reduced production and restrictions at the state level. A number of other countries, including Canada and the European Union, and some states, including California, Hawaii, New York, Maryland and Oregon, have taken similar actions to restrict the use of this pesticide on food. Additionally, alternative pesticides have been registered in recent years for most crops. There are also other insecticides and insect growth regulators available to control certain target pests. EPA is committed to reviewing replacements for and alternatives to chlorpyrifos.
This action will be incorporated into the ongoing registration review of chlorpyrifos. EPA is continuing to review the comments submitted on the chlorpyrifos proposed interim decision, draft revised human health risk assessment, and draft ecological risk assessment. These documents are available in the chlorpyrifos registration review docket EPA-HQ-OPP-2008-0850 at www.regulations.gov.
After considering public comments, EPA will proceed with registration review for the remaining non-food uses, which may propose additional measures to reduce human health and ecological risks. More information on the registration review process is available here.
Separately, on Feb. 9, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released specific guidance consistent with the channels of trade provision to address questions related to treated commodities with chlorpyrifos residues, including imported foods. Visit FDA’s website for additional information and to read the guidance.
Live Training in March and April
If you prefer live face to face training, we have good news for you. Environmental Resource Center is conducting live nationwide training. We’ll be following the current CDC recommendations for a safe environment and working hard to ensure that you remain safe throughout the sessions. Here’s a list of classes that you can choose from:|
New Orleans
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March 22-23
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Charleston
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March 29-30
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Philadelphia
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April 5-6
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Ontario
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March 24
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New Orleans
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March 24
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Charleston
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March 31
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Philadelphia
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April 7
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Ontario
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March 22-23
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April 19
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Charlotte
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April 27
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Atlanta
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April 20
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Cary
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April 12
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Charlotte
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April 28
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Cary
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April 13
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Cary
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April 25-27
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EPA Renews Efforts to Address Pesticide Effects on Endangered Species
The EPA is being more proactive about assessing pesticides’ compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA), according to a feature article in Chemical & Engineering News, an independent news outlet of the American Chemical Society.Senior Editor Britt E. Erickson writes that in January 2022, the agency rolled out a policy saying it would now evaluate how active ingredients could impact endangered species before new pesticides are introduced to the market, instead of waiting to be sued after products are already commercially available. With the policy, EPA also said it would consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service when appropriate. If the agency determines that adverse effects are likely, then it would require mitigation measures to be developed before the product hits the market.
Some environmental groups welcome the change, but challenges remain. The new policy is part of EPA’s larger plan to meet its ESA obligations, but it is unclear whether the plan will include already marketed products. The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service also have different approaches and thresholds when determining risk, compared to EPA. For example, in the case of malathion, EPA predicted that nearly all endangered species would be negatively impacted, whereas the Fish and Wildlife Service stated that less than 5% would experience such consequences. Some groups say that EPA’s models overestimate pesticide usage and potential impacts, forcing companies and farmers to use mitigation measures that aren’t necessary. In the meantime, litigation is likely to continue as a way to keep focusing attention on the issue.
Oregon DEQ Issues 12 Penalties in January for Environmental Violations
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued 12 penalties totaling $1,450,582 in January for various environmental violations. A detailed list of violations and resulting penalties is at https://ordeq.org/enforcement.Fines ranged from $1,100 to $1,291,551. This includes the $1.3 million penalty to the Port of Morrow, which DEQ announced on Jan. 11. Alleged violations included a paper mill creating pollution in the Willamette River, a fueling facility failing to report an oil spill, and a glass recycling facility failing to monitor its industrial stormwater.
DEQ issued civil penalties to the following organizations:
- Cascadia Ridge LLC, $54,786, Estacada, stormwater
- Covanta Marion, Inc., $15,722, Brooks, air quality
- Everett Custom Homes Inc., $4,350, Portland, stormwater
- Fossil Fill-Up, LLC, $11,400, Fossil, spill response
- Global Pacific Environmental, Inc., $16,800, Medford, asbestos
- Hydro Extrusion Portland, Inc., $16,356, Portland, wastewater
- Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc., $15,701, Portland, stormwater
- Port of Morrow, $1,291,551, Boardman, water quality
- Red Hills Construction Inc., $4,146, Happy Valley, stormwater
- Southern Oregon Rock LLC, $1,100, Portable, air quality
- Tillamook Country Smoker, $9,070, Bay City, wastewater
- Willamette Falls Paper Company, $9,600, West Linn, wastewater
Organizations or individuals must either pay the fines or file an appeal within 20 days of receiving notice of the penalty. They may be able to offset a portion of a penalty by funding a supplemental environmental project that improves Oregon’s environment. Learn more about these projects at https://ordeq.org/sep.
Penalties may also include orders requiring specific tasks to prevent ongoing violations or additional environmental harm.
Long Island Contractor Cited for 9 Willful Safety Violations Following Employee's Fatal Fall
A federal investigation into a fatal workplace injury on Aug. 19, 2021, at a Town of Oyster Bay municipal building has found a Setauket roofing contractor failed to provide necessary safeguards to protect employees against falls.After an employee of DME Construction Associates, Inc. died after falling 18 feet through an unprotected skylight, OSHA conducted an inspection. The agency found that, in addition to the unprotected skylight, the employer exposed workers to falls of up to 22 feet from other unguarded roof openings and roof edges, and failed to provide employees with any personal fall protection equipment.
DME's job safety plan required fall protection for all employees walking or working on unprotected surfaces 6 feet or more above a lower level. Before this inspection, OSHA had cited DME seven times since 2011 for fall-related hazards, including not providing protection from falls through skylights and from roof edges, with more than $50,000 in unpaid fines.
Based on the company's violation history and intentional disregard of fall protection standards, which resulted in a worker fatality, OSHA issued nine willful violations to the company, including eight egregious per-instance citations for DME's failure to provide fall protection for each of the eight employees who worked on the roof. The agency also cited the company for four serious violations for other fall hazards, and for violations related to the crane in use on-site. Proposed penalties total $1,201,031.
“DME Construction Associates Inc. has continually ignored its legal responsibility to provide a safe workplace and that failure cost a worker their life,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Richard Mendelson in New York. “Ensuring worker safety is not an option. The U.S. Department of Labor will hold employers accountable when they knowingly disregard the law requiring the use of personal protective equipment.”
This employer meets the requirements for the Severe Violator Enforcement Program.
West Virginia Brick Manufacturer Exposed Workers to Respirable Crystalline Silica Hazards
The OSHA has cited Continental Brick Co. after an investigation found the employer exposed workers to respirable crystalline silica at the company's brick manufacturing facility in Martinsburg, WV.On Aug. 16, 2021, OSHA initiated an inspection in response to reports that Continental Brick Co. failed to provide workers with personal protective equipment while working around materials containing silica. The agency determined that the company failed to provide and require employees to wear respirators when working in areas where there was an overexposure to respirable crystalline silica.
OSHA also found the brick manufacturer did not implement adequate engineering and work practice controls, conduct scheduled monitoring, establish regulated decontamination areas or make a medical surveillance program available for employees exposed at or above the action level.
OSHA cited the company for two willful and six serious safety and health violations and proposed $131,972 in penalties.
“Workers exposed to silica dust can lose their ability to work and to breathe,” said OSHA Area Director Prentice Cline in Charleston, West Virginia. “The Continental Brick Company must implement engineering and work practice controls and require appropriate respiratory protection to ensure workers are fully protected from this deadly hazard.”
MassDEP Settlement Results in Reduced Emissions from Covanta Waste-to-Energy Facilities
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has reached a settlement with the waste-to-energy company Covanta to resolve issues raised by the company at their Haverhill and Rochester facilities in response to Emission Control Plan (ECP) permits issued by MassDEP. The settlement will result in the installation of significant additional emissions controls that will reduce emissions from the plants and improve air quality.Under the settlement and revised permits, Covanta has committed to reducing NOx emissions by more that 20 percent below the MassDEP regulatory limit and has agreed to reduce emissions of metals and dioxin to almost half of MassDEP’s emission limits for these pollutants. In addition, Covanta has agreed to install monitors to measure ammonia emissions on each waste combustor at the Haverhill and Rochester facilities. Ammonia emissions can contribute to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Ammonia monitors will ensure that Covanta will achieve and maintain the lowest ammonia emissions possible from the Haverhill and Rochester facilities and reduce PM2.5 emissions.
“The Commonwealth’s stringent Emission Control Plan Approvals were implemented to ensure that waste-to-energy facilities are properly addressing their emissions and reducing toxic pollutants that can impact the health of our communities,” said Eric Worrall, Director of MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Wilmington. “I am pleased that, under this settlement, Covanta has voluntarily agreed to make significant emissions reductions that will have a real impact on protecting public health in Haverhill and Rochester, and in communities across the state.”
In March of 2018, MassDEP issued new regulations and subsequently issued permits to reflect these new regulatory limits for waste-to-energy facilities, also known as municipal waste combustors (MWC), in the Commonwealth. These regulations established more stringent emission limits of several air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), metals and dioxin, and provided more options for monitoring pollutant emissions. NOx emissions are lung irritants and may pose severe risks to public health, including their contribution to the formation of harmful ground level ozone, or smog, which can increase susceptibility to and exacerbate respiratory ailments and illnesses such as asthma.
Additionally, these facilities are in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities. EJ communities have historically experienced disparate impact from air pollution and these commitments from Covanta are an important step toward assuring clean air for area residents.
Calabasas Private Aviation Provider to Pay $958K to Whistleblower
The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered a California business aviation provider to pay $958,000 in back wages and associated costs, and correct misinformation about a former employee who the employer retaliated against after they reported flight safety issues.Investigators with OSHA found that – after a former employee of Pegasus Elite Aviation, Inc. in Calabasas reported safety issues that led to an onsite inspection – the company sent a falsified and negative Pilot Records Improvement Act report to the worker's new employer, violating the whistleblower provision. The report led to the employee's termination.
OSHA also found Pegasus Elite Aviation provided falsified information to the Federal Aviation Administration that contributed to the agency's decision to suspend the former employee's pilot certificates.
The investigation compelled OSHA to order Pegasus Elite Aviation to pay more than $898,000 in back wages and associated costs, $50,000 in emotional damages and $10,000 in attorney's fees.
“The U.S. Department of Labor will enforce the protections afforded to airline workers who do what's right and raise their safety concerns,” said OSHA's Regional Administrator James D. Wulff in San Francisco. “No matter the industry, every worker has the right to report safety concerns of any kind without fearing retaliation.”
Pipelayer Exposed to Potential Trench Collapse in Ohio
An employer installing sanitation sewer pipes in a 15-foot-deep trench in Batavia exposed its employees to the hazard of collapsing walls by not installing trench safety boxes.An investigator with OSHA observed the worker in the unprotected trench at a residential construction site on Nov. 19, 2021. OSHA also found the pipelayer had to walk the length of the 75-foot trench to enter or exit because the employer failed to provide a safe means of egress.
OSHA cited Lanigan Construction, LLC for two willful and four serious safety violations and proposed total penalties of $214,636 to the Burlington, Kentucky, company.
Trench collapses remain among the construction industry's most dangerous hazards. From 2011 and 2018, trench cave-ins led to 203 fatal injuries in the industry – all of them preventable had the required safety measures been taken.
"The company owner and foreman were onsite and allowed the pipelayer to work in hazardous conditions knowingly," explained OSHA Area Director Ken Montgomery in Cincinnati. "We cannot stress enough how important it is for employers to review and then implement required safety measures."
OSHA also cited the company for failing to provide personal protective equipment such as hard hats, and for placing soil piles closer than two feet from the edge of the excavation, creating the hazard for soil fall back into the trench.
OSHA has a national emphasis program on trenching and excavations. Trenching standards require protective systems on trenches deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from the edge of a trench. Additionally, trenches must be inspected by a knowledgeable person, be free of standing water and atmospheric hazards and have a safe means of egress prior to allowing a worker to enter.
EPA Seeks Explanations, Solutions from Hanover Foods for Numerous Violations
The EPA is taking legal action to get Hanover Foods Corporation to address numerous alleged violations at the company’s wastewater treatment facility in Hanover, Pennsylvania, that included excessive levels of contaminants as well as floating solids and visible scum in the discharged water and receiving water.“The number of alleged violations observed during inspections is appalling,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The company needs to identify why this occurred and present a plan to fix this so that the local waters that eventually feed into the Chesapeake Bay are protected.”
Under a consent order with EPA, Hanover Foods will conduct a study to determine the cause and how to correct these alleged water pollution violations that were identified during inspections by EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
EPA alleges the company has failed to comply with a state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to operate its own wastewater treatment facility at 1486 York Street to treat industrial waste before wastewater is discharged to Oil Creek, a tributary of Codorus Creek that feeds into the Susquehanna River in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Environmental inspections identified numerous alleged violations at the facility including:
- Discharges of water exceeding permit effluent discharge limitations
- Floating solids and visible scum in wastewater and receiving water
- Violations of the permit’s operation and maintenance conditions
In an Administrative Order on Consent, the company has agreed to provide EPA with a complete engineering evaluation and propose and implement a corrective action plan and maintenance plan to correct the alleged violations. This work is a first step in addressing the company’s discharge of pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
N.C. Department of Labor Presented Boon Edam with SHARP Award
On Wednesday, March 2, Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson presented Boon Edam with an award designating their Lillington manufacturing facility as a N.C. Department of Labor (NCDOL) SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) site. Boon Edam is a Netherlands-based manufacturer of revolving doors, high security doors, security turnstiles and access gates.Under a bright sun and with spring-like weather, the ceremonial SHARP flag was presented in front of the facility to the nearly 100 employees in attendance. Dobson spoke about North Carolina’s focus on workplace safety.
“It’s an honor for me to be here today at Boon Edam and meet all of you,” Labor Commissioner Dobson said. “Workplace safety may fly under the radar for some people, but it’s one thing that makes North Carolina unique. Employers across our state make a commitment to workplace safety every day, and Boon Edam is certainly a role model for other worksites looking to improve their safety culture.”
Following the flag ceremony, Dobson and representatives from the NCDOL Consultative Services Bureau joined Boon Edam’s Safety Committee on the factory floor where the committee was presented with the SHARP Award plaque.
“The SHARP designation is not something that the department of labor awards, it is something that a company earns,” Blair Byrd, Industrial Hygiene Consultant said. “Building a safety culture and earning the SHARP designation is a journey, not a destination and I congratulate Boon Edam for their dedication to safety.”
Boon Edam operates manufacturing facilities in three countries and owns distribution centers worldwide. The company opened its Lillington location in 1988, making it the sole plant in North America. Earning their first-ever SHARP award solidifies the company’s commitment to safety.
“I am proud of the safety culture we’ve built at this facility, and today’s celebration is about you,” President and Managing Director Patrick Nora said to Boon Edam employees. “We can purchase the right equipment and implement the right policies, but building a culture of safety relies on the discipline and commitment demonstrated by each of you.”
Tracing its roots back to Amsterdam in 1873, company founder Gerrit Boon crafted revolving doors made from wood. The company carries his legacy of quality forward, all while exemplifying the company’s motto of “We Revolve Around Safety.” Boon Edam is the only SHARP site in Harnett County and only one of about 170 total in North Carolina.
“Congratulations to Boon Edam for receiving this prestigious award,” Lewis Weatherspoon, Chair, Harnett County Board of Commissioners said. “Boon Edam is one of Harnett County’s largest employers and many of your workers live here in the county. Because of your focus on safety, our residents can go home safely each night.”
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