MassDEP Penalizes LaFarge, North America, $20,000 For Discharge of Cement Dust over Charlestown in 2006 
Company agrees to upgrade control system in order to prevent further incidents   

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) penalized Lafarge, North America $20,000 for air quality violations involving the widespread discharge of cement dust over a section of Charlestown on a fall afternoon in 2006.  As a preventive measure, MassDEP is also requiring the Maryland-based company to install better monitoring and control technology at its cement storage and distribution facility at 285 Medford Street, Charlestown.

Dry cement is typically received at this commercial cement storage and distribution facility via ocean barges and stored in one of eight silos.  On September 28, 2006, however, the cement delivery system became clogged and over-pressurized, and an air pollution control device known as a "baghouse" failed.  The resulting dry cement powder release - a violation of the state's air pollution control regulations - covered a wide swath of property including approximately 200 Boston school buses and 300 new automobiles parked in storage nearby. 

A number of school bus drivers were taken to area hospitals due to respiratory distress caused by the cement dust fallout and students were stranded at school for hours.  A nearby residential neighborhood was also impacted with the dust.  The cost and responsibility for the cleanup was borne by the company.

"Any manufacturer, commercial venture or bulk storage facility - especially if it operates near a residential area - has got to be pro-active in terms of safety, making sure the proper controls are in place in order to head-off accidents before they occur," said Richard Chalpin, director of MassDEP's Northeast Office in Wilmington.   "Waiting to have a problem erupt before addressing it is the wrong approach."

After the incident, and during the investigation by MassDEP, Lafarge agreed to implement certain short-term measures to prevent a similar event. A more long-term solution has now been agreed upon, in which Lafarge is required to install and operate an automatic "fail-safe" electronic interlock system at the facility that will stop the transfer of dry cement product in the event that the system becomes clogged or over-pressurized. 

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