Clean Harbors of Braintree, Inc has recently agreed to a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency also known as the EPA. The Massachusetts based company processes and stores large amounts of hazardous waste at their plant. They provide storage and processing of PCB, create waste based fuels that are used to power industrial furnaces and kilns, and they also pretreated a number of toxic chemicals and waste compounds in order to make them safe enough to be dumped in landfills.

During an EPA inspection in June of 2007 close to thirty separate violations were documented at the facility. These violations were evaluated as part of two of the EPA’s most prominent acts, the Emergency Planning and community Right-To-Know Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In more basic terms Clean Harbors of Braintree, Inc. lacked the proper second containment structures required for waste storage, had not thoroughly and clearly characterized all of the waste at the facility, had been lax on waste tank maintenance, and had improperly stored wastes that were incompatible. These violations posed a threat to works, surrounding communities, and the environment. After VOC emissions were detected around some of the tanks at the facility it was clear to the EPA that these violations were posing eminent threat to surrounding areas. The EPA presented an order for immediate modifications at the facility in July of 2007.

The company complied with all inspection requests and cooperated with the EPA during the inspection and settlement process. The final agreement between the EPA and Clean harbors of Braintree will cost the company over one point seven million dollars. Six hundred fifty thousand dollars of the money is to be paid to the EPA in the form of a penalty. The bulk of the money however, will go to fund a new environmental development program. Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. will be working with local parks departments in the Boston area to plant around fourteen thousand trees throughout the city in low income and disadvantaged neighborhoods. The company has also agreed to make several improvements to their waste treatment facilities. They will be installing a vapor collection system around all of the tanks at the facility to help prevent volatile organic compound emissions from escaping the facility. These compounds are one of the leading contributors to smog. The company will also develop a plan to ensure that all hazardous waste is properly stored and characterized. The improvements to the facility do not stop there. Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc. have already installed all new containment tanks to replace the old failing ones discovered during the initial inspection.

Settlements like this one made between companies and the EPA help protect workers and communities from the possibility of introducing hazardous chemicals into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agencies work helps ensure that companies who use hazardous chemicals and pollutants in the businesses have plans to help prevent disasters and clean up if an accident occurs. Companies who cooperate with the EPA and follow their guidelines may have to make initial investments to meet all of the requirements of the agency but that can save them millions in the end.

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Category: Business
Keywords: Environment, Business, Industry, Insurance