FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1997                          (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
 CAMDEN IRON & METAL AND SUBSIDIARY AGREE TO $500,000 SETTLEMENT
            FOR MISHANDLING OZONE DESTROYING CHEMICAL 

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Continuing its efforts to defend the
Earth's protective ozone layer from the destructive force of CFCs,
the United States today reached an agreement requiring a New
Jersey-based scrap metal recycling company to ensure freon gas
refrigerant is safely removed from old appliances before shredding
the appliances at its facility in Philadelphia.

     Freon, the popular brand name for chloroflourocarbons, also
known as CFCs, is known to destroy the ozone layer, and has been
banned from import or production for domestic use in the United
States since January 1996.
     
     The settlement, filed today in U.S. District Court in
Philadelphia, seeks to resolve allegations that Camden Iron & Metal
and its subsidiary, SPC Corporation, violated the National
Recycling and Emission Reduction Program, established under the
federal Clean Air Act.  In an April 1996 complaint, the United
States alleged that the companies failed to remove CFCs from
appliances prior to shredding them at their Philadelphia facility,
and failed to ensure that suppliers of discarded appliances had the
CFCs properly removed prior to delivering them to the facility. 
Today's settlement, if approved by the court, would resolve the
lawsuit.

     Under the proposed settlement the two companies will pay a
$125,000 civil fine for violating the Clean Air Act, and spend
$375,000 on a Supplemental Environmental Project.

     "We must work to protect the ozone layer so it can continue to
protect us from the harmful effects of the Sun's radiation," said
Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.   "Because
CFCs are so destructive to the ozone layer, we must do all we can
to prevent even the smallest amount from escaping into the
atmosphere.  Today's settlement will make a difference by helping
to ensure that CFCs in the Philadelphia area are safely removed
from old appliances placed on the recycling heap."

     EPA Regional Administrator Michael McCabe hailed the
environmental benefits of the settlement, "Controlling CFCs is
essential to protecting public health and the environment.  This
settlement results in an appropriate penalty for past violations
and s future benefit to the community."
 
     Under the terms of the Supplemental Environmental Project, the
companies will work with municipalities in metropolitan
Philadelphia to establish collection stations where appliances
containing CFCs will be picked up and brought to the companies'
facility at 26th Street and Penrose Avenue to have the refrigerant
gas safely and lawfully removed.

     Today's action represents a small part of the federal
government's efforts to prevent the release of CFCs into the
atmosphere.  The government also continues its efforts to stop the
illegal smuggling of CFCs into the United States through its
National CFC Enforcement Initiative operated by the Justice
Department, Customs Service, EPA, and the FBI.

     The proposed settlement, known as a consent decree, will be
published in the Federal Register.  Any person may submit written
comments concerning the proposed decree during the 30 day comment
period to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural
Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania
Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20530.
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