INDUSTRIES MUST KNOW CLEAN AIR ACT'S RULES

Knowledge of laws and requirements from the amended Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act is a must if Cape Girardeau companies like BioKyowa and Lone Star Industries want to avoid heavy fines and keep their operating permits.

Understanding how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Environmental Protection Agency functions can determine if a smaller company finishes the year in the red or black.

Representatives from area companies offered information on these and other issues during the Industrial Relations Seminar Friday.

The seminar was sponsored by the Industrial Relations Council of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce.

"Enforcement is more severe now than in the past," a Lone Star representative said. "The new administration is making a big push to get rid of hazardous waste."

Lone Star alternate fuels manager Norris Johnson said the regulations are so complex, it seems like the current administration is trying to make it so it is more difficult to comply every time a new amendment comes out.

Johnson said citizens could report hazardous waste violations and collect as much as $10,000 reward for their efforts. EPA fines can go as high as $25,000 to $200,000.

Lone Star must monitor the amount of nitrous oxide it produces during its combustion process to comply with the 1990 amended form of the Clean Air Act.

Ironically, an inefficient combustion process would produce less nitrous oxide than an efficient process.

"But no one wants an inefficient system," Johnson said.

He said he was wary of government environmental policing agencies that would send an inspector to a site for a 24-hour period.

"I have trouble with that because if you're sent to find violations and you come back with nothing, you've just worked yourself out of a job," he said.

Biokyowa Environmental Engineer Bruce Blankenship said he keeps a daily watch on discharges into the Mississippi River to make sure the company complies with the Clean Water Act.

The way this is controlled is by the issuing of permits. A permit must be renewed every five years. Blankenship said fines for violations would be levied against him rather than the company.

"I don't make enough money to handle that," quipped Blankenship. Biokyowa monitors its own discharges. However, the EPA tests the company's discharges once a year.

The company is on the honor system.

Southeast Missouri State University is taking steps to deal with future visits from OSHA.

"Right now no state agency is visited by OSHA, but that is expected to change by 1996," Safety Director Doug Richards said.

The university has 75 to 80 buildings on 200 acres using all kinds of materials that are under federal regulations.

Southeast has the resources to monitor itself, but small companies don't.

"What we're proposing right now," Richards said, "is to form a committee that could identify many of the safety and environmental regulations and how we are working to comply with those."

This information could be sent to Jefferson City and made available to companies who can't afford to make their own studies.

Mark Johnson, construction safety manager with Fru-Con Construction Corp. at Procter & Gamble, said a minor accident could hurt a company's profit margin more than some might think.

"An accident that would initially cost the company $300 is actually more expensive because of the hidden costs," Johnson said. "There's the cost of training someone else, the down time of getting the worker help and people standing around talking about the accident."

Johnson suggested that a company work quickly to lessen the severity of a fine by OSHA when a safety violation is detected.

"Showing that you intend to correct the problem immediately, if that is possible, will be noted in the OSHA report," he said.

Companies should test their plants to determine if there are toxic chemicals that would endanger the lives of employees. Johnson also suggested holding training sessions that include a test.

"You document that the employee was trained and also understood the training," he said.

A poor safety record filed by OSHA could become devastating to construction companies that are bidding for new jobs. Johnson said many companies ask for OSHA safety records of companies when they are deciding which bid to take.

To learn more about OSHA regulations, Johnson suggested several publications. Those include : "OSHA Publications and Audiovisual Programs," the "Environmental Health and Safety Trade Publication," "Industrial Hygiene News" and "Tool Box Talks."

Johnson said there is also a class offered at the Cape Girardeau Vo-Tech School that offers information about OSHA safety standards.