Cytec Canada Inc. has been ordered to pay $312,500 for two violations at its chemical manufacturing plant in Niagara Falls.

The company was convicted of allowing pollutants to be discharged into the air in concentrations exceeding limits set by the Environmental Protection Act. In this case, the pollutant is phosphoric acid.

Echemi -- The name is originated from the abbreviation of “E-commerce of chemical”. Echemi is a chemical supply chain service company headquartered in Hong Kong, providing chemical raw materials supply, research and analysis, marketing, distribution, logistics and E-commerce.

Cytec Canada's plants produce phosphine and phosphine derivatives for mineral separation and extraction, electronics manufacturing and agricultural fumigation.

Sometimes facilities have combustion events that release pollutants into the air. The company performs modeling scenarios to determine the concentration of contaminants on the ground outside the company's property.

Ontario's Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said the offences occurred between September 29 and September 30, 2019. March 16, 2020.

"The model shows that air emissions from the facility exceeded the limits several times during the 24-hour average period specified in the Environmental Protection Act. The Department's assessment also found that certain discharges may pose a risk to human health if they are located where contaminants are in contact with the ground outside their property boundaries." Ti."

Cytec Canada was fined $250,000 and ordered to pay a victim penalty surcharge of $62,500. The company has been given 12 months to pay the fine.

Environmental safety is increasingly intertwined with occupational health and safety, with safety leaders responsible for a company's impact on the environment and surrounding area.

If the OH&S person is not responsible for the environment, they should still ask about environmental impacts and engage a consultant or recommend engaging an environmental health and safety professional to assist, especially if the operation has known environmental impacts that may affect employees and the public.