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newsrel -- Sears pays $600,000 for air quality violations

Posted: 27 Oct 2008 15:59:19
Retail giant sold illegal fuel containers and polluting wiper
fluid. 

Release 08-97
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 27, 2008
	  	  	
CONTACT:
Karen Caesar
(626) 575-6728
www.arb.ca.gov

 

Sears pays $600,000 for air quality violations

Retail giant sold illegal fuel containers and polluting wiper
fluid

SACRAMENTO - The Air Resources Board last month fined Sears
Holdings Corporation $600,000 for selling portable fuel
containers and windshield washer fluid throughout the state that
failed to meet California air emissions requirements.

In October 2007, ARB found that Sears sold more than 650
proscribed Blitz and Midwest brand portable fuel containers at
Kmart and Sears stores across the state and to California
customers directly via its website. These containers do not meet
stringent state standards and can pose a health threat due to
spills and leaks that can allow fumes and chemicals to escape.
The ARB has twice previously issued notices of violation to
Sears for selling these same illegal products.

ARB also cited the commercial chain for selling windshield
washer fluid throughout California that was specially formulated
with more polluting chemicals to prevent freezing in the state's
colder, mountainous areas. Sears sold about 18,000 gallons of
illegal washer fluid from 2004 – 2007, resulting in excess VOC
(volatile organic compound) emissions. These VOCs react with
other pollutants and sunlight in the atmosphere to form
ground-level ozone and particulate matter - the main ingredients
in smog. Both pollutants can exacerbate respiratory and
cardiovascular ailments.

“California has one of the country’s most aggressive consumer
protection programs to prevent exposure to harmful emissions,”
said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. “Enforcement of the strict
regulations we already have in place is mandatory if we are
going to improve our air quality and safeguard human health.”

The goal of the state’s portable fuel container regulation is to
ensure that spillage and evaporative emissions are minimized or
eliminated. These cans and containers are used to fill a variety
of equipment ranging from lawnmowers to personal watercraft.
Because of their large numbers, these containers have the
potential to create substantial hydrocarbon emissions that
contribute to smog and poor respiratory health. As of July 1,
2007, all portable fuel containers sold in California must be
certified by the ARB as meeting low emission standards and
regulatory requirements.

The ARB's consumer products program works to reduce the amount
of VOCs emitted from the use of chemically formulated consumer
products in homes and institutions. This vast product category
includes detergents, cosmetics, disinfectants, automotive
specialty items, as well as lawn and garden products.

The ARB's consumer products regulation specifies different VOC
limits for automotive windshield washer fluid in California,
depending on the climate of the region. The limit is 35 percent
VOC by weight for mountainous areas that are subject to low
freezing temperatures, and one percent VOC for everywhere else
in the state. The higher limit is permitted in the coldest areas
of the state because more VOCs are needed to keep the fluid from
freezing.

Windshield washer fluid is the only consumer product in
California that has two permissible VOC limits; all other
consumer products have only one limit they must meet to be sold
throughout the state.

All settlement monies will be paid to the California Air
Pollution Control Fund, which was established to mitigate
various sources of pollution through education and the
advancement and use of cleaner technology. Sears also agreed to
no longer sell, supply, or manufacture for sale in California
any of these items that do not meet state regulations.

Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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