EPA orders Rider Steel to shut down over air pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered a steel manufacturing company in the Free Zones enclave to shut down its operations for not complying with Ghana’s environmental safety regulations.

The order to Rider Steel to cease operations takes immediate effect and follows investigations by the EPA into the factory’s activities which revealed that Rider Steel had not put in place pollution control systems, as directed by the EPA about three weeks ago.

Curtail pollution

The company has been directed to stop work and effect the necessary control measures to curtail pollution of the atmosphere, which does not only endanger the lives of factory workers but also puts the lives of other workers in the free zones enclave and beyond at risk.

The order to close down was issued after a team from the EPA, led by its Deputy Director in charge of Technical Services, Mr Ebenezer Appah-Sarpong made a follow-up visit to Rider Steel to monitor compliance after the EPA had issued an earlier warning notice three weeks ago.

“We were here about three weeks ago to inspect the factory and at that time we felt the pollution control system in place could not handle emissions,” he said.

Follow-up visit

He said after the first visit, the EPA directed the company to fix the problem and thereafter invite it to come back and monitor activities before the factory could resume operations. However, the follow-up visit revealed that there had been no progress made.

Mr Appah-Sarpong directed the management of Rider Steel to submit a road map to show how they were going to solve the identified lapses.

He advised other steel manufacturing companies and, indeed, any industry that was operating in the country and was polluting the environment to put in measures to stop it, so that the EPA would not be saddled with the unpleasant duty of closing it down.

“We will not hesitate to shut down any company if we believe that what is happening is not what we expect them to do,” he warned.

The Plant Manager for Rider Steel, Mr Jagdidi Singh, who was at the meeting with the EPA, said the management of the company was committed to ensuring that emission levels were reduced as directed by the EPA, adding that they would ensure that standards were met.

Minimum pollution

Mr Appah-Sarpong and his team also visited United Steel Company, which is operating in the Free Zones area, and commended the company for taking steps to install a pollution control system.

He said the EPA would continue to monitor the performance of the system to ensure that it met the required standards.

He added that the EPA was determined to ensure that companies did the right thing and did not expose their workers and residents nearby to any harmful pollutants.

The General Manager of United Steel Company, Mr Hani Mikati, said the company was committed to working with the EPA to ensure compliance with regulations.

He advised other stakeholders in the industry to stick to standards and work to reduce emissions.