EPA requires Southern California metal finishers to stop illegal hazardous waste releases, wastewater discharges | WPN World People News

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday the resolution of a series of enforcement actions at five Southern California metal finishing companies which will collectively pay more than $223,700 in civil penalties for hazardous waste and Clean Water Act violations. The violations were uncovered during inspections conducted at facilities in the cities of Compton, Paramount, Ontario, and Sun Valley. Three facilities are located along the I-710 freeway corridor where the effects of pollution are disproportionately higher on local residents than in other areas of Los Angeles County.

“This multi-year effort in Southern California is part of EPA’s commitment to bring environmental justice to residents and workers in communities unfairly burdened by the risks from hazardous waste,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Metal plating facilities, often located close to neighborhoods, must ensure they comply with federal laws to prevent harm to the community and the environment.”

Metal finishers use a plating or anodizing process to coat industrial metal, and typically generate hazardous wastes including: sludges containing heavy metals such as chromium, cadmium, and lead; spent plating solutions containing metals or cyanides; flammable liquids; and both alkaline and acidic corrosive liquids. The federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires metal finishing companies to properly manage hazardous waste to prevent harm to human health and the environment.

Anaplex Corporation

Anaplex has agreed to pay a $142,200 penalty for violations found at its Paramount, Calif. facility. An EPA investigation in August 2010 found that the facility failed to treat pollutants in its industrial wastewater, such as cadmium, nickel and zinc, before being discharged into the Los Angeles County Sanitation District sewer system which enters into the Pacific Ocean—a violation of the Clean Water Act. In addition, EPA discovered several hazardous waste violations including failure to properly label and close hazardous waste containers. Anaplex also failed to properly meet training requirements for its employees and did not operate the facility in a way that minimizes the possibility of hazardous waste being released into the environment. In January 2011, EPA ordered Anaplex to cease violations of the Clean Water Act, and in August 2011, EPA issued Anaplex a Notice of Violations requiring correction of the hazardous waste violations.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency