Tennis Racquet Maker Fined for Toxic Chemical Reporting Violations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fined HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports $24,780 for allegedly failing to report the amount of toxic chemicals released by its Phoenix, Ariz., facility, in violation of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. According to EPA, the company failed to report emissions of N-hexane and zinc compounds from its facility to EPA's annual Toxics Release Inventory for 2007. HEAD/Penn, based in Connecticut, manufactures tennis, badminton, and ski equipment, and owns and operates the Phoenix facility.
Federal law requires that facilities using toxic chemicals over specified amounts file annual reports of their chemical releases with EPA and the state. Information from these reports is then compiled into a national database and made available to the public.
"These reports provide the public with valuable information about the toxic chemicals being released in their communities," said Nathan Lau, EPA's Communities and Ecosystems Division associate director for the Pacific Southwest. "This should remind others that the EPA is maintaining a close watch over chemical reporting practices and is serious about enforcing community right-to-know laws."
Each year, EPA publishes its Toxics Release Inventory Public Data Release Report, which summarizes the prior year's submissions and provides a trend analysis of toxic chemical releases. For more information on the program visit www.epa.gov/tri. EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can be accessed at www.epa/gov/enviro.