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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