All News Releases By Date

 

East Bay company to pay $13,900 for violation of federal environmental laws

Release Date: 9/26/2005
Contact Information: Mark Merchant, (415) 947-4297

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently fined Pacific Galvanizing, Inc., $13,900 for violations of federal hazardous waste laws at its facility in Oakland, Calif.

During a routine inspection in March of 2004, EPA inspectors discovered that Pacific Galvanizing:

• stored hazardous waste without a permit;
• did not have adequate hazardous waste training program for employees;
• failed to maintain a complete contingency plan in case of a hazardous waste release;
• and did not perform weekly inspections of its hazardous waste storage area.

These are violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which regulates hazardous waste storage and handling.

“In order to keep employees and the surrounding community safe from potentially harmful chemicals, it is imperative that companies generating hazardous waste comply with federal laws,” said Jeff Scott, director of the waste management division in the EPA’s San Francisco office. “The laws are designed to minimize the risk of a release.”

Pacific Galvanizing, a zinc galvanizer of steel parts, generates two federally regulated hazardous wastes: floor sweepings contaminated with chromium and lead, and solvent waste from parts washing.

For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/osw/commerce.htm