The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced an agreement today with Croda Inc., that requires the company to take actions protective of human health and the environment in addressing recent violations at Croda’s Atlas Point facility near New Castle.

In November 2020, DNREC announced violations at the ethylene oxide (EO) plant, including excess emissions of EO. In January 2021, Croda restarted the facility in order to conduct stack testing. While testing showed that the company was back in compliance with the EO emissions, it revealed violations for nitrogen oxide (NOx) at the ethanol dehydration furnace (EDF). Further violations were detected at the catalytic combustion unit (CCU) for carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM). Additionally, the agreement with DNREC addresses violations at the Atlas Point facility that Croda disclosed in its July 2020 semiannual report.

According to the settlement agreement between Croda and DNREC, Croda will meet a schedule to complete construction to remove the hotwell as a source of emissions and re-route emissions from the EO scrubber to minimize or eliminate emissions from this source. Croda will apply to increase emissions at the EDF and all increases will be offset with concurrent permitted decreases at a 1:1.3 ratio. Prior to restarting the EO Plant, Croda will replace the catalyst at the CCU to improve operation of this unit and return to compliance. They will install a flue gas analyzer to measure carbon monoxide (CO) to continuously confirm catalyst performance within 30 days of the EO plant restart. Additional stack testing will be conducted within 60 days of restarting the EO plant to set operating conditions and ensure compliance with emissions limits.

In addition, Croda will pay a penalty of $300,000 and install a community alarm system to the north of Interstate-295, expanding the environmental emergency notification range should the facility be responsible for hazardous releases in the future. The agreement between DNREC and Croda can be found on the DNREC website at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/secretarys-orders/enforcement/.

A virtual public information session will be held March 3 by DNREC to answer questions and take community comments about Croda’s operations and about the agreement with DNREC. Questions from the public can be emailed in advance to daqpermittinginfo@delaware.gov. Registration for the public information session can be made on the DNREC website. Croda intends to restart the plant no sooner than the end of next week.

DNREC previously posted a list of questions/answers following a November 2020 public information session – they are available on the DNREC website, as is the Nov. 11, 2020 Notice of Violation issued to Croda.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov

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The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) announced Friday that it has authorized the ethylene oxide plant at the Croda Atlas Point facility near New Castle to restart solely for the purpose of conducting an emissions test, then will shut down and await a department decision on a path forward. The EO plant had a failed emissions test, known as a “stack test” in September that led to a recently issued Notice of Violation (NOV) for air emission and equipment violations associated.

The EO plant will start up the first week of January and the test will be conducted the second week of January, as the plant must be fully operational for the test. Operation for the purpose of the testing will not include the hotwell or use of the unpermitted emission source. During the operation, the company must monitor water circulation and pressure through the scrubber. The tanks will also be monitored for pressure and temperature. These operational parameters will be reported to DNREC. During the test, DNREC staff will be on site and ethylene oxide levels and scrubber performance will be known in real time. The operational data will also be collected.

The EO plant will shut down following the completion of the testing. DNREC continues to work from its regulatory purview to determine the path forward for Croda to resume operations at the EO plant.

A public information session was held virtually with about 75 participants on November 19 to answer questions and take comments about Croda’s operations and about the NOV. DNREC on Friday released a list of questions that came up at the session with responses for the community, available at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/croda-atlas-point/.

The NOV issued on November 11, 2020 can be found at http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Admin/Documents/croda-nov-20201111.pdf.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The Division of Air Quality monitors and regulates all emissions to the air. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov, Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov

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Approval granted for operation of Croda’s EO plant after company fulfills Delaware accidental release prevention requirements

DOVER – Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced today that the Department has granted approval to Croda, Inc. to resume ethylene oxide (EO) production at the company’s Atlas Point facility. Croda received DNREC approval by fulfilling its obligations to improve safety at the facility through actions required by DNREC’s accidental release program. DNREC issued its requirements after investigating the Nov. 25, 2018 accidental release of EO, the volatile chemical substance used in the manufacturing of Croda’s products.

DNREC Secretary Garvin ordered Croda to complete seven accidental release prevention action requirements before the Department would approve the resumption of EO production at Croda’s new ethylene oxide plant. At DNREC’s direction, Croda completed an internal incident investigation report; a focused process hazard analysis of all EO release points; a fire water system hazard analysis; fire water system procedures training; fire department manifold connection to Croda’s fire water system supply tank; employee training for EO plant operation and emergency procedures; and a safety validation process – also known internally by Croda as the pre-startup safety review.

In addition to DNREC’s requirements, Croda installed automated purge and isolation valves, 26 additional fixed ethylene oxide gas detectors and eight additional closed circuit TV cameras, as well as upgraded its vapor suppression capabilities.

After coordination with DNREC and the New Castle County Office of Emergency Management, Croda also decided to install an emergency siren system to be used in conjunction with several other notification systems for alerting the public in the event of an accidental release by the facility. The system will be installed on or about Jan. 31, 2020.

Within a month of the Nov. 25, 2018 incident, DNREC, along with numerous state and local government agencies and Croda officials, held a public information meeting to review the incident and governmental agencies’ response. Other agencies included Delaware’s Department of Homeland Security, Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA), Division of Public Health, State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), and the New Castle County Department of Public Safety and Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). DNREC also held a second public meeting in August with Croda to update the surrounding community on the required accidental release prevention actions and obtain additional community input.

After Croda established that it had met all of DNREC’s requirements, including resulting upgrades and safety improvements for both Croda employees and the community, Secretary Garvin announced today that the company could begin operating the ethylene oxide plant again at the Atlas Point facility.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

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DOVER – The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and Croda, Inc. have entered into a settlement agreement that resolves environmental violations arising from the Nov. 25, 2018 ethylene oxide release (EO) at Croda’s Atlas Point facility.

Croda, Inc.’s facility located at 315 Cherry Lane, New Castle, Del., manufactures surfactants that promote mixing of oil- and water-based ingredients in consumer products such as pharmaceuticals and shaving cream. At 4:23 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25, the EO release by Croda was responsible for a seven-hour shutdown of the Delaware Memorial Bridge while emergency responders – including DNREC’s Emergency Prevention and Response Section and Environmental Crimes Unit – worked throughout the area to ensure that there was no threat to public health and safety.

Croda’s subsequent investigation found that the release was due to the failure of a gasket made of unsuitable material for processing EO at the plant. The accidental release resulted in 2,688 pounds of the highly flammable EO gas escaping into the environment. A water deluge system, deployed by Croda to minimize the risk of ignition or explosion of the EO that was released, caused almost 700,000 gallons of deluge water to overflow a spill sump and to discharge into the ground and a wooded area behind the sump.

The settlement agreement includes a DNREC Secretary’s Order issued on March 4, 2019, citing Croda for Division of Air Quality violations for the EO release and for the improper maintenance and operation of the Atlas Point facility. The Division of Water cited Croda for the unpermitted release of deluge water in violation of its NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. The settlement agreement also directs Croda to pursue a plan of sampling and remediation, pursuant to HSCA (the Delaware Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act), administered by the Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances’ Site Investigation and Restoration Section (SIRS).

Through the settlement agreement, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin issued a Notice of Penalty Assessment and Order to Croda, Inc., for the violations of Delaware air quality regulations and the company’s NPDES permit. The Secretary’s Order assesses a penalty of $246,739 to Croda, which includes $16,489 for DNREC cost recovery from responding to and investigating the incident.

In the settlement with the State of Delaware and DNREC, Croda, Inc. also has agreed to resolve all violations arising from the operation of Croda’s new EO plant as permitted by DNREC, both prior to and including the Nov. 25 incident. The settlement agreement also calls for DNREC and Croda to define further Croda’s environmental obligations for the Atlas Point facility. With Croda having accepted those obligations set forth by DNREC and agreed to necessary remedial actions required by the Department for public health and safety, the settlement with DNREC provides a path forward to resume production of ethylene oxide at the Atlas Point facility upon final approval from DNREC.

The settlement agreement and Secretary’s Order can be found on the DNREC website at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/secretarys-orders/.
A DNREC Q&A about the Nov. 25 incident and the Department’s investigation into it can be found at https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/croda-questions-answers/.

Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Vol. 49, No. 65

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DOVER – Following up on a public meeting held Dec. 20, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control today has made available a Q&A fact sheet on the Nov. 25, 2018 accidental release of ethylene oxide into the air by Croda’s manufacturing facility at Atlas Point. DNREC has compiled answers to frequently-asked questions about the incident and provided them on the DNREC website.