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EPA PROPOSES FINE FOR DOVER COMPANY

Release Date: 01/06/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617) 918-4154

BOSTON - The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to fine Jet-Line Environmental Services of Dover, N.H. nearly $10,000 for improperly disposing of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

Jet-Line, an emergency response/cleanup contractor located at 8 Progress Drive, transports PCBs and hazardous wastes. The company violated the federal Toxics Substance Control Act by failing to remove PCBs from storage and properly dispose of them within one year of the date when they were first placed into storage.

"Companies dealing with hazardous waste -- especially those in the emergency response and cleanup business -- hold a civic and public health responsibility to follow environmental regulations to the letter of the law," said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England office.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services uncovered the violations during an inspection in June. Jet-Line had received three shipments of PCB transformer oil (totalling 7,104 kilograms) for disposal in January and February of 1996. The company violated regulations by storing the PCBs until January 1997 when it shipped the PCB oil to a Texas waste management company. The Texas company was not able to actually dispose of the PCB oil until the end of February.

PCBs are no longer manufactured but remain in use as non-conductive, fire-resistant additives to coolant liquids in heavy electrical equipment. PCBs released into the environment during fire conditions can be volatilized and converted into even more toxic materials such as dioxin. PCBs are probable carcinogens and are known causes of liver ailments and chloracne, a persistent skin rash.