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Key and Lock Manufacturer Fined for Hazardous Waste Violations

Release Date: 12/09/2008
Contact Information: EPA Public Affairs, (617) 918-1010

(Boston, Mass. – Dec. 9, 2008) – A key and lock manufacturing facility located in Hudson, Massachusetts will pay a $70,000 fine in a settlement resolving violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, relating to the characterization, handling, labeling and storage of hazardous waste.

Subsequent to a 2007 inspection, EPA alleged that Hudson Lock LLC was violating a number of different requirements with respect to containers of hazardous waste located at its facility. The company failed to make adequate determinations about the nature and characteristics of its wastes. EPA’s inspector also observed that a number of the hazardous waste containers were leaking, with no associated containment structures or berms to prevent commingling or protect the surrounding environment from exposure. Incompatible wastes were also stored near one another without any means of separation to prevent the possibility of dangerous chemical reactions. Additionally, the containers were not properly labeled as hazardous waste.

Hazardous waste generators are required to evaluate their waste streams so that proper decisions can be made about how to handle such materials. Conducting proper waste determinations, and the proper storage and labeling of containers of hazardous waste allows facilities and regulators to handle in a safe manner the chemical wastes that are generated, used and stored within a particular facility.

More Information: RCRA & Hazardous Waste enforcement in New England (epa.gov/region1/enforcement/waste/index.html)