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U.S. EPA CITES DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR FOR WASTE VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 12/15/1995
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

    (San Francisco) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced that it has cited the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), National Park Service, charging it with hazardous waste violations at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. U.S. EPA is proposing a $243,800 penalty.

     "The U.S. EPA is committed to working with the U.S. Department of the Interior to achieve compliance with environmental regulations to assure protection of human health and the environment," said Laura Yoshii, U.S. EPA's deputy director of the hazardous waste management division.

     The facility violated the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by storing hazardous wastes without a RCRA permit between March and October 1995. The waste, stored in containers near a maintenance yard in the park, contained amounts of acetone, chromium, lead, xylene, phenol, arsenic, mercury, and other hazardous wastes. The wastes were generated by laboratories used to study park volcanoes, and by road, building, and automotive maintenance.  

     DOI was also cited for storing the wastes in containers that were rusted or leaking despite having acceptable containers on site which could have been used to hold the wastes. The containers containing the wastes were removed by the facility in October 1995.

     The facility is being ordered to develop within two months a hazardous waste management plan which includes procedures ensuring that all hazardous waste is moved off site shortly after it is created. The management plan must also include other actions to ensure compliance.

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