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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 11:41 a.m., Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Clark Foam stops producing surfboard blanks

Advertiser Staff

Clark Foam Co., one of the largest makers of foam blanks for shaping surfboards, has ceased production and sales, company founder Gordon Clark said in a letter to customers yesterday.

The company said it shut down its Laguna Niguel, Calif., manufacturing plant and its Wahiawa offices. The company said it employs three workers at its Wahiawa offices, who were laid off.

In the seven-page letter, company founder Gordon Clark said the Environmental Protection Agency recently cited the company for its handling of toxic chemicals that are used in making foam blanks.

"The seriousness of their citation could mean that I could have to go to prison and be fined an astronomical amount," Clark said.

EPA officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

In his letter, Clark said that the firm has stopped making foam blanks as of yesterday and will no longer take orders from its customers.

"I do not want to be answering questions about my decisions for the next few years," Clark wrote in the letter.