The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Tesla Motors. The automaker agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty for violations of the Clean Air Act at Tesla's manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif.
People living near sources of hazardous air pollutants may face significant risks to health and environment. The list of hazardous air pollutants includes more than 180 chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects. Tesla’s facility applied coating materials containing formaldehyde, ethylbenzene, naphthalene and xylene.
EPA found that the company violated federal Clean Air Act regulations known as National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Surface Coating of Automobiles and Light-Duty Trucks from October 2016 through September 2019 by:
- Failing to develop and/or implement a work practice plan to minimize hazardous air pollutants emissions from the storage and mixing of materials used in vehicle coating operations.
- Failing to correctly perform required monthly emissions calculations needed to demonstrate that the facility’s coating operations complied with federal hazardous air pollutant standards.
- Failing to collect and keep all required records associated with the calculation of the hazardous air pollutants emission rate for Tesla’s coating operations.
According to the EPA, Tesla has corrected the violations and returned to compliance.
Compliance monitoring is one of the key components EPA uses to ensure that the regulated community follows environmental laws and regulations.
