Company to Pay Fines for Hazardous Waste Violations
A door hardware company in New Haven, Conn. will pay $39,075 in fines for violating state and federal hazardous waste laws.
According to EPA, the Sargent Manufacturing Company breached hazardous waste laws and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Such laws have been designed to protect both the environment and the public health by promoting the proper management and disposal of hazardous refuse.
During a March 2011 inspection, the EPA discovered that Sargent had violated RCRA by failing to have an adequate hazardous waste training program, not closing containers that held hazardous waste, not marking dates on the containers, not having a proper amount of space between the containers, and not submitting and updated contingency plan to local authorities – all of which are RCRA requirements.
By Sargent not having an acceptable training program, the likelihood of wastes not being managed and disposed of in a proper manner was greatly increased. Also, if there had been any sort of emergency, Sargent personnel may not have been able to accurately coordinate all emergency response measures.
Following the inspection, Sargent took the appropriate measures to bring the facility into full compliance with federal and state waste management laws.