Firm Fined $12,000 in Connection With PCB Rules

A Fountain Valley company has been fined $12,000 for violating federal laws dictating inspection and record-keeping procedures during use of toxic PCBs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported Wednesday.

An EPA spokeswoman said ITT Corp.’s Cannon Division, which manufactures electronic connectors on Slater Avenue, was cited for failing to inspect in a timely fashion hydraulic systems to determine PCB concentrations being used, failure to keep records between 1982 and 1985 on the disposition of PCBs at the plant and other record-keeping inadequacies found during a Feb. 3 inspection.

The inspection is part of regular enforcement of the Toxic Substances Control Act PCB Rule, a federal law enacted in 1976.

PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, cause cancer in rats and mice and are suspected of being carcinogenic to humans as well as causing liver disease.

A company spokeswoman said Wednesday that she was not familiar with the citation and could not immediately comment on the accusation or penalties.

Dan Schoenholz, an EPA environmental protection specialist who worked on the case, said the company argued unsuccessfully that its record keeping complied with the law.

The EPA said the company, which employs more than 500 people at its Fountain Valley headquarters, has agreed to pay the $12,000 penalty. EPA spokeswoman Roberta Kahan said that as part of a consent agreement and final order effective Tuesday, the firm agreed to come into compliance with the PCB rule and certify all other facilities it runs.

No actual safety hazard was found during the inspection, the company’s first EPA visit. One inspector on the case said the firm has no record of previous violations.

PCBs were widely used in electrical transformer insulation, in hydraulic systems and as a fixative for dyes and inks.