Oct. 6 – US: US Ecology to pay nearly $500,000 for hazardous waste violations

From: Insurance Auto

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today fined US Ecology $497,982 for 18 counts of hazardous waste violations.

 

EPA inspectors found numerous violations at a hazardous waste unit designed to thermally treat contaminated materials, like soils, to remove the hazardous components.  On two occasions, US Ecology reports showed that the unit was “smoking,” releasing hazardous components to the air.   The treatment unit has been permanently shut down by US Ecology.

 

In addition, EPA inspectors found PCBs were improperly labeled, stored and handled.  EPA sampling results detected PCBs at elevated levels both in and outside the PCB storage building (43,500 ppm and 900 ppm, respectively).  Inspectors determined that between 2006 and 2008 six spills, leaks or other uncontrolled PCB discharges occurred and were not reported as required by law.

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