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TREFFERS TO PAY $45,100 TO SETTLE HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 6/4/1998
Contact Information: Dave Schmidt, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1578

   
      (San Francisco) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced that Treffers Precision, Inc. has agreed to pay $45,100 to settle charges that the firm had improperly stored hazardous waste at its metal plating and finishing facility in Phoenix.  Treffers has also agreed to take measures to minimize the possibility of future hazardous waste releases. Among the hazardous wastes the facility generates and stores are wastewater treatment sludge, waste cyanide solution, chromium contaminated waste, paint-related waste, and spent solvents.

     Earlier U.S. EPA inspections found three areas of the facility with wastes on the floor as a result of equipment leaks or container spills.  The inspections also found open containers of hazardous waste, unlabeled hazardous waste containers, and insufficient aisle space in the hazardous waste container storage area.  These unsafe practices violate the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs hazardous waste management.

     To settle the case, Treffers has agreed to pay the $45,100 penalty and ensure safe handling of hazardous waste in the future by implementing a Hazardous Waste Management Plan, a training plan for facility workers who deal with hazardous waste, and a clean closure plan that specifies how any soil contamination will be cleaned up.

     The Treffers facility is a metal plating and finishing shop that manufactures precision aerospace parts and computer printer shafting.  Under RCRA, the facility is classified as a "large quantity generator," because it generates over 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month.  The  shop is located at 1021 North 22nd Avenue, Phoenix.

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