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Department of Ecology News Release - Nov. 29, 2000
00-232
OLYMPIA - The Kelso office of the United Parcel Service (UPS) has been fined $22,000 for violating state regulations for handling hazardous waste.
The penalty by the state Department of Ecology stems from actions taken by a Kelso-based UPS driver that led to a large-scale emergency response and public-health hazard in Longview last August.
Strong odors causing headaches and nausea spurred a 911 call on Aug. 21. The Longview Fire Department evacuated a computer store, a strip mall, an apartment building and a fast-food restaurant, and also closed a major road.
The incident was caused after the driver left a leaking package at the computer store the previous Friday so he could continue his day's deliveries. The leaking package contained two one-gallon cans of solvent-based stain, a highly volatile hazardous substance.
The driver placed the leaking package in plastic bags and assured the store clerk he would have somebody pick up the package. It was not picked up by UPS and remained in the store over the weekend, where it continued to release fumes. By Monday, the full-blown emergency response occurred.
"UPS didn't notify to the Department of Ecology and didn't even follow its own internal procedures for responding to the incident," said Kay Seiler, a hazardous-waste manager for Ecology.
She said Ecology found out about the hazardous release from a newspaper article.
The department's investigation found that because the stain was not identified as a hazardous substance, it was inappropriately sent to a solid-waste landfill after being removed from the store by the cleanup contractor. Safety data provided by the product's manufacturer indicates the material has the potential to spontaneously combust.
"If UPS had made proper notifications, rather than abandoning the package, few people, if any, would have been exposed to hazardous materials, and the hazardous waste would have been disposed of properly," Seiler said.
"UPS takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously," said Randy Rutledge, a UPS health and safety manager. "UPS cooperated fully with the department's review of the incidents in this case, and it appears that the matter arose because an employee failed to follow established UPS procedures. We just learned of the department's decision and we are evaluating it."
In addition to the penalty, Ecology ordered UPS of Kelso to submit within 90 days a revised hazardous-waste response policy and a standard operating procedure for designating wastes it generates from accidents and from regular business operations.
UPS may apply to Ecology within 15 days for relief from the penalty, or may appeal the fine to the Pollution Control Hearings Board within 30 days.
Contact: Sandy Howard, public information manager, 360-407-6239
Ecology's hazardous-waste Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/index.htmlCopyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
