U.S. food company Tyson Foods has reached a nearly-4-million-dollar settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act regulations on ammonia refrigeration systems at 23 facilities in four states, it was announced on Friday.

The EPA said in a release that the settlement is a result of eight separate incidents between 2006 and 2010, in which anhydrous ammonia was accidentally released at various Tyson plants, resulting in one fatality, multiple injuries and property damage, according to a report on the news website Arkansasonline.com.

The agency said that it found multiple occasions of noncompliance with the Clean Air Act's chemical accident- prevention provisions. Failure to follow the general industry standards to test or replace safety valves and improperly co- located gas-fired boilers were among the violations cited by the EPA.

The settlement agreement requires Tyson to pay a civil penalty of 3.95 million U.S. dollars and create a special program for meeting risk management program requirements of the federal Clean Air Act, according to the report.

The company also is required to spend at least 300,000 dollars to purchase anhydrous ammonia-related emergency response equipment for fire departments in eight communities.

Tyson Foods, based in Springdale, Arkansas, is the country's leading processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork.

Anhydrous ammonia is considered a poisonous gas, but is commonly used in industrial refrigeration systems. Exposure to its vapors can cause temporary blindness and eye damage, and irritation of the skin, mouth, throat, respiratory tract and mucous membranes. Prolonged exposure to the vapor at high concentrations can lead to serious lung damage and death. Endi

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