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EPA FINES GARBAGE TRUCK MANUFACTURER $89,482 FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 1/9/2001
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez,U.S. EPA,415/744-1588

     SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently fined Phoenix, Ariz.-based Heil Company $89,482 for violating numerous provisions of the country's major hazardous waste handling statute, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

      When the EPA inspected the facility on 1500 S. 7th St. in July of 1999, they discovered several violations, including failure to make an adequate waste determination, mismanagement of hazardous waste, failure to determine if hazardous waste needed to be treated before going to the landfill and failure to close nine 55-gallon containers of hazardous waste.

     The Heil Co. also failed to document weekly inspections of the hazardous waste storage area,  failed to provide adequate, unobstructed aisle space and failed to properly post and identify emergency coordinators, and failed to have a complete training plan.

     "This settlement will result in a number of measures that will translate into a safer facility for workers and the surrounding community," said Jeff Scott, acting director of the EPA's Waste Division for the Pacific Southwest.  "When it comes to working with hazardous waste, preventative maintenance goes a long way in making sure accidents don't happen in the first place."

     The hazardous waste is generated in surface coating, cleaning operations, and the recyling of used solvents.  The Heil Company will also submit semi-annual reports on its hazardous waste management practices for two years to allow the EPA to monitor Heil's management of hazardous waste and its efforts to minimize waste generation.