City of Tacoma settles with EPA for violating federal rules on PCBs in used oil

City of Tacoma settles with EPA for violating federal rules on PCBs in used oil

Release Date: 09/30/2013

Contact Information: Suzanne Skadowski, EPA Region 10 Public Affairs, 206-295-4829, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov

(Seattle – September 30, 2013) The City of Tacoma has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for violating federal rules on used oil contaminated with toxic polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs.

“Today’s settlement should serve as a reminder that handling used oil requires attention to the requirements designed to prevent the distribution of PCBs,” said Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s enforcement program in Seattle. “Simple testing for PCBs before shipping used oil off-site helps protect people and the environment and prevents contamination of oil that can otherwise be recycled and reused.”
 
According to EPA, the City of Tacoma shipped 750 gallons of used oil contaminated with PCBs from the City’s landfill to Emerald Services, an oil recycling and reuse company. The City did not know that the used oil was contaminated with PCBs before they shipped the oil. Emerald Services found the problem during their routine oil testing and was able to trace the PCB-contaminated oil to the City’s shipment.
 
EPA discovered the violations when Emerald Services provided a waste report to EPA, as required by federal regulations, describing the PCB waste. The City’s oil shipment resulted in the PCB contamination of approximately 8,250 gallons of used oil at Emerald Services. Under federal rules, Emerald Services could not recycle the PCB-contaminated oil, and instead was required to dispose of the used oil as hazardous waste.
 
To settle the violations, the City of Tacoma has agreed to pay a $40,000 federal penalty.
 
PCBs are chemicals used in paints, industrial equipment, and cooling oil for electrical transformers. More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the U.S. before EPA banned their production in 1978, and many PCB-containing materials are still in use today.
 
When released into the environment, PCBs remain for decades. Tests have shown that PCBs cause cancer in animals and are suspected carcinogens in humans. Concerns about human health and the persistence of PCBs in the environment led Congress to enact the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1976.
 
More about safely recycling oil:  http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/usedoil/index.htm

Read more about the Management of Used Oil.  It is important to note that oil containing PCB’s cannot meet the definition of a Used Oil and therefore cannot be managed per 40 CFR 279.  PCB-containing oil must be handled per the TSCA (Toxic Substances Control Act) regulations of 40 CFR 761, and not the RCRA regulations of 40 CFR 239-299.  It is not managed as a hazardous waste as the 3rd paragraph of the above news release reports.

Though not a hazardous waste, a used oil is still subject to regulations governing its composition, on-site management, and off-site disposal.  Make certain you are in compliance with these regulations and everything else required by RCRA.  The cost of training is slight compared to fines like these.  Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions about the management of used oil, hazardous waste, universal waste, and more.