The California Air Resources Board (CARB) fined General Produce Company $30,900 recently for violations reported during 2006 at its Sacramento CA facility.
General Produce failed to submit a one-time report for its transportation refrigeration units at the facility, as required by law. TRUs are refrigeration systems that are powered by diesel engines that control the environment of temperature-sensitive products in refrigerated trucks, trailers, railcars, and shipping containers.
“Companies that fail to submit the reports required in this and other diesel fleet regulations set the stage for further non-compliance and continued production of harmful emissions; they also create an unfair advantage over compliant companies,” said James Ryden, CARB enforcement chief.
Facilities with 20 or more cold storage loading docks are required to monitor, keep records, and report activities that create emissions from diesel-powered refrigeration units mounted on trucks, trailers, shipping containers, and railcars. These activities take place during loading and unloading of perishables goods at distribution centers around the state.
General Produce paid $30,900 in penalties: $23,175 went to the California Air Pollution Control Fund for projects and research to improve California’s air quality. The remaining $7,725 went to participating community colleges throughout the state to fund emissions education classes.
Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and more than 40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death, and other health problems.
