WM LampTracker agrees to pay penalty for waste violations

Waste Management LampTracker, Inc., has agreed to pay a $118,800 civil penalty to the United States to settle a series of violations of its Missouri Hazardous Waste Permit and the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) at its permitted Kaiser, Missouri, facility and a nearby unpermitted materials staging area.

Waste Management LampTracker, which collects and recycles universal waste lamps, mercury containing equipment and batteries at its facility in Kaiser, Missouri, was inspected by EPA Region 7 in August 2010, according to an administrative consent agreement filed by the Agency in Kansas City, Kansas. EPA inspected the company’s main Kaiser facility at 415 Kaiser Industrial Drive, and an unpermitted materials staging area located less than a mile away.

After the inspection, EPA issued a notice of violation to the company, citing multiple issues with inadequate waste container management, inadequate facility management, and failures to comply with universal waste requirements.

Specific violations included failure to maintain adequate aisle space in storage areas, failures to close and label hazardous waste containers, failure to close universal waste containers, failure to sample crushed glass to test for mercury levels, and issues with employee training documentation, job description documentation, and the facility’s emergency contingency plan.

By agreeing to the settlement with EPA, Waste Management LampTracker has certified that its Kaiser operations are now in compliance with all requirements of RCRA and its Missouri Hazardous Waste Permit.