Massachusetts Company Settles With the EPA For 1.7 Million Clean Harbors of
Braintree, Inc has recently agreed to a settlement with the Environmental
Protection Agency also known as the EPA. The Massachusetts based company
processes and stores large amounts of hazardous waste at their plant. They
provide storage and processing of PCB, create waste based fuels that are used to
power industrial furnaces and kilns, and they also pretreated a number of toxic
chemicals and waste compounds in order to make them safe enough to be dumped in
landfills.
During an EPA inspection in June of 2007 close to thirty
separate violations were documented at the facility. These violations were
evaluated as part of two of the EPA's most prominent acts, the Emergency
Planning and community Right-To-Know Act and the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act. In more basic terms Clean Harbors of Braintree, Inc. lacked the
proper second containment structures required for waste storage, had not
thoroughly and clearly characterized all of the waste at the facility, had been
lax on waste tank maintenance, and had improperly stored wastes that were
incompatible. These violations posed a threat to works, surrounding communities,
and the environment. After VOC emissions were detected around some of the tanks
at the facility it was clear to the EPA that these violations were posing
eminent threat to surrounding areas. The EPA presented an order for immediate
modifications at the facility in July of 2007.
The company complied with
all inspection requests and cooperated with the EPA during the inspection and
settlement process. The final agreement between the EPA and Clean harbors of
Braintree will cost the company over one point seven million dollars. Six
hundred fifty thousand dollars of the money is to be paid to the EPA in the form
of a penalty. The bulk of the money however, will go to fund a new environmental
development program. Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. will be working with local
parks departments in the Boston area to plant around fourteen thousand trees
throughout the city in low income and disadvantaged neighborhoods. The company
has also agreed to make several improvements to their waste treatment
facilities. They will be installing a vapor collection system around all of the
tanks at the facility to help prevent volatile organic compound emissions from
escaping the facility. These compounds are one of the leading contributors to
smog. The company will also develop a plan to ensure that all hazardous waste is
properly stored and characterized Rigid
flex PCB. The improvements to the facility do not stop there. Clean Harbors
of Braintree Inc. have already installed all new containment tanks to replace
the old failing ones discovered during the initial inspection.
Settlements like this one made between companies and the EPA help
protect workers and communities from the possibility of introducing hazardous
chemicals into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agencies work helps
ensure that companies who use hazardous chemicals and pollutants in the
businesses have plans to help prevent disasters and clean up if an accident
occurs. Companies who cooperate with the EPA and follow their guidelines may
have to make initial investments to meet all of the requirements of the agency
but that can save them millions in the end Rigid flex.
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