EPA Settles With American Asphalt Over Chemical Releases

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement with All American Asphalt over claims that the company failed to provide complete and accurate reports of its releases of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) from its asphalt manufacturing plant located in Irvine, CA, between 2018-2021.

PACs are potentially toxic chemicals that can harm human health. The chemical releases in the air were permitted releases but, under federal environmental law, must still be reported accurately. The company will pay a $53,115 penalty.

"Communities have a right to know about chemical releases in their neighborhood," said Martha Guzman, EPA Pacific Southwest regional administrator. “These are not simple paperwork issues. The health and safety of communities where these types of businesses operate depend on a company’s compliance with these requirements, particularly when toxic chemicals such as PACs are involved.”

Headquartered in Corona, CA, All American Asphalt has agreed to submit to the EPA fully complete and accurate Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Forms as part of an agreement to resolve claimed violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. The company has also permanently shut down the Irvine facility.

The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act created the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which requires regulated facilities to document and report the quantity of toxic chemicals released annually and is an important tool for understanding potential environmental health concerns. PACs can remain in the environment for a very long time and may build up or accumulate in the human body.

TRI reports allow community members, including planners and emergency responders, to access information about pollutants in their communities. By failing to properly report pollution releases to the EPA, a facility is depriving its community members of timely and accurate data about the environmental health of their community.