[PA-NJ Glassblowers] Gallo Glass Company slams California EPA lawsuit

[Tony Patti]

This link was posted to the "Glass People" group on LinkedIn, you may find
it interesting.

 

http://www.beveragedaily.com/Processing-Packaging/Gallo-Glass-Company-slams-
California-EPA-arsenic-lawsuit-We-look-forward-to-our-day-in-court! 

 


 

Gallo Glass Company, which is facing a lawsuit filed by California's
Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly using hazardous dust waste
containing arsenic and lead in the manufacture of wine bottles up to 2014,
has slammed the agency for filing an 'irresponsible' complaint.

 

With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clarifying it has no evidence
that wine contained in these bottles posed a health threat, Gallo Glass says
the suggestion of safety issues "risks the future of the entire California
wine industry".

 

The company is part of E. & J. Gallo Winery, which positions itself as the
world's largest family-owned winery and largest exporter of California wine.

 

Gallo Glass Company's air emission controls captured raw materials from the
glass manufacturing process as precipitate. The company recycled this
precipitate/waste dust to make glass, replacing some of the virgin raw
material.

 

But the California EPA's Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
claims the dust was 'hazardous waste,' and insists it must be managed and
disposed of under Californian law.

 

The issue has come to a head after five years of discussions, and Gallo
Glass Company says it looks forward to its day in court.

 

EPA alleges 'potential' public health risk

 

DTSC last week announced it had filed a complaint against Gallo Glass
Company, alleging the company used hazardous waste in the manufacturer of
glass wine bottles.

 

The complaint alleges that the company illegally introduced dust containing
lead, arsenic, cadmium and selenium into wine bottles made at its Modesto
plant.

 

It continues to claim the practice did not comply with requirements for
legitimate recycling, and that the dust should be properly managed and
disposed of under Californian law. It adds the Gallo Glass Company stored
large volumes of waste dust "in a manner that presented a potential risk to
public health".

  

In May 2014, Gallo agreed to stop using waste dust in the manufacture of its
bottles. But the DTSC wants Gallo to pay penalties, and for the court to
prohibit the company from adding waste dust into its bottles in the future.

 

However, it clarifies that it has no evidence that wine in these bottles
posed a health threat.

 

To suggest this is a safety concerns...risks future of California wine
industry ' - Gallo Glass Company

 

Gallo Glass Company says the complaint is a "legal issue and not a health
issue". 

 

"The state makes it crystal clear that there is no threat from the bottles,"
a spokesperson told BeverageDaily.com.  "To suggest that this is a safety
concern is irresponsible and risks the future of the entire California wine
industry."

 

The company prides itself on a state-of-the-art facility with advanced
pollution control technology and environmentally-sustainable practices.

 

"For decades, our plant has been regularly inspected by a variety of
agencies and not one agency has ever suggested that our sustainable use of
precipitate in the glass-making process or our wastewater recycling system
violated any law until the State started this enforcement action," the
spokesperson said.

 

"Furthermore, both our air and water treatment plants are operating in
accordance with the permits issued by other governmental agencies.

 

"Precipitate captured by our air emission controls is comprised of the same
raw materials used to make glass so we use it instead of adding new raw
materials.  The use of precipitate in glass making is recognized throughout
the world as the environmentally-sustainable best practice and its use in
the glass making process eliminates the need to transport and dispose of it
in landfills," they added.

 

"Yet, the State of California now wants to require us to discard the
precipitate in a disposal site instead of productively using it - a position
which is in direct conflict with California's recycling goals and the
State's own exemptions from the Hazardous Waste Control Law," the
spokesperson said.

 

"For more than five years we have been trying to resolve this matter but the
State of California has refused to provide us with any proposals and instead
unilaterally cut off negotiations deciding instead to sue us - a
California-based manufacturer with a strong environmental record that
provides more than 800 jobs in the Central Valley.  We look forward to our
day in court."

 

 

Perhaps a good reason to prefer cullet such as Spectrum 96 Studio or Premium
nuggets?

http://www.spectrumglass.com/GlassBlowing/StudioNuggetsTech.html 

or

http://www.spectrumglass.com/GlassBlowing/PremiumNuggets.html 

 


Tony Patti
  
www.glassblower.info
  
gaffer at glassblower.info

 <http://www.glassblower.info/qr-code.html> QR Code for Tony Patti -
www.glassblower.info

 

 

 

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