S.H. BELL Company Enters into Voluntary Agreement With Ohio EPA to Enhance Emissions Controls at East Liverpool Facilities

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- S.H. BELL Company, a leader in the storage, handling, and final distribution of metals, minerals, and semi-finished industrial materials, has entered into a voluntary agreement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to further enhance emission controls at its facilities in East Liverpool, OH.

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"Since it began its operations in East Liverpool in the early 1960s, S.H. BELL Company has established itself as a dedicated community partner," said John M. Bell, president of S.H. BELL Company.  "We have 70 employees at our two facilities in the area, and many of those employees live in the region.  We, too, are concerned about emissions.  This renewed effort will add to an already progressive program the company has executed, which is aimed at controlling dust and lowering emissions."  

Among a host of proactive initiatives to be undertaken by the company, S.H. BELL Company will remove all manganese operations from its Little England Facility.  Currently, S.H. BELL Company maintains two facilities in the East Liverpool area:  The Little England Facility (St. George Street, East Liverpool, OH, 43920) and the Stateline Facility (101 State Route 68, Midland, PA, 15059).  The storage, handling and processing of manganese currently being conducted at the Little England Facility will be transferred to the Stateline Facility on or before March 31, 2010.

In developing this agreement with S.H. BELL Company, Ohio EPA recognized that the company's air emissions are in compliance with all applicable permits, regulations and agreements.  As a result of the voluntary agreement, S.H. BELL Company will employ a host of other emission control measures at both of its East Liverpool facilities:  

• The company will continue with an enhanced dust suppression program on all unpaved roads and other unpaved surfaces.

• The company will continue enhanced watering and vacuum sweeping measures on all paved roads and other paved surfaces.

• S.H. BELL Company will continue to use loader tunnels, a capture system and emission control equipment for the control of fugitive dust at dump hoppers.  The company has already installed these improvements.

• S.H. BELL Company will install and deploy wet suppression systems, or equivalent controls, aimed at minimizing dust at its processing units at the Stateline Facility.

• The company will continue to use truck load out and add truck unloading sheds equipped with the best available emissions control technology, improvements already made by S.H. BELL Company.  

• S.H. BELL Company has added a wet suppression system at the barge unloading dock to control emissions.

• The company has agreed to store all manganese-containing materials in indoor storage sheds and will perform other improvements aimed at controlling dust emissions.

"From structural upgrades to updated processes, S.H. BELL Company is taking important steps to further enhance its emission controls at our facilities," added Bell.  "A number of years ago, we began a dialogue with the Ohio EPA on these matters, a dialogue that continues.  We are fully cooperating with the Ohio EPA to address any concerns that they may have."  

Bell added that neither state nor federal agencies have claimed in any way that S.H. BELL Company has violated any existing operating permits or permit applications.  

"S.H. BELL Company is committed to maintaining the highest standards in terms of emission control," said Bell.  "We welcome a responsible and informed dialogue with community leaders on this front."  

About S.H. BELL Company

Founded in 1933, S.H. BELL Company is a leader in the storage, handling, and final distribution of metals, minerals, and semi-finished industrial materials, particularly the ones that are used in the production of steel.  Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, S.H. BELL Company receives a wide variety of industrial products from more than 20 countries around the world, and distributes them from five warehouse facilities in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Maryland.  For more information on S.H. BELL Company, visit www.shbellco.com.

SOURCE S.H. BELL Company