Read the news release:  Saint-Gobain Plastics Assessed $1,730 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Management Violations, Must Provide iPads to Worcester Fire Dept.

BOSTON – Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, which operates a coating facility at 717 Plantation Street in Worcester, has been assessed penalties totaling $6,900 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for violating Hazardous Waste regulations.

During a routine inspection conducted in the fall of 2012, MassDEP determined the company had accumulated hazardous waste for longer than the time allowed under its registered generator status. As part of a consent order with MassDEP, the company will pay a $1,730 penalty and perform a Supplemental Environmental Project in lieu of paying a larger penalty amount.

The project includes the purchase of four iPads and associated hardware and software that will be given to the Worcester Fire Department. The iPads will allow first-responders to access a chemical database web site while in the field, providing them with detailed chemical datasheets within seconds.

“The company, once notified of the violation, took steps quickly to return to compliance and proposed the Supplemental Environmental Project,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester.  “The iPads will be a great resource for the Worcester Fire Department and greatly assist in their response to certain emergency situations.”

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

It’s good that the company quickly returned to compliance.  It would be even better if it had not had the violations in the first place.  Contact me for a free RCRA training consultation or with any questions you may have about the management of hazardous waste.