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Department of Ecology News Release - April 17, 2009
09-086
(NOTE: this news release was modified on May 7, 2009, for clarity about the name of the company receiving the penalty. See complete clarification.)
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) issued an $18,000 penalty this week to Wholesale Printers for ignoring state laws that protect the environment from releases of hazardous chemicals. The company is located in Battle Ground.
Wholesale Printers failed to evaluate its wastes to determine if they were hazardous. Instead of disposing its silver-bearing photochemicals, ink and solvent wastes safely and legally, the company poured the chemicals into the sewer, which eventually empties into the Columbia River. Over time, the toxic chemicals built up in the sewer sludge collected in vaults located adjacent to the print shop.
Hazardous materials like the ones generated by Wholesale Printers pose a human health and environmental risk. Sewer systems aren’t meant to handle toxic and corrosive materials. The system could malfunction and release contaminated sludge and wastewater into soil and groundwater. Sewer utility workers are also put at risk through unexpected exposure to the chemicals during maintenance and inspection activities.
“Businesses which generate dangerous waste are required to have their wastes tested by labs to see if they’re dangerous, and they’re also required to obtain authorization before dumping their production wastes to the sewer. Wholesale Printers did neither,” said Ava Edmonson, Ecology’s acting regional section manager for the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program.
Wholesale Printers has operated in the same location since 1987 and has been improperly disposing of wastes since that time. Some of the chemicals used and waste water generated by the shop are hazardous and should be disposed of through a certified waste handler instead of being poured to the sewer.
Wholesale Printers applied for a wastewater discharge permit in 1987. They were told at the time that industrial waste couldn’t be discharged to the sewer system.
Ecology investigated the site after receiving a complaint from the Clark Regional Wastewater Program, which was concerned about the condition of Wholesale Printing’s sewer vaults. These tanks aren’t designed to handle industrial printing waste.
Ecology’s investigation confirmed that dangerous waste was being discharged to the sewer and a significant amount of toxic waste had accumulated in the vaults. The company responded to Ecology’s findings and stopped discharging chemicals to the sewer. The company paid for the sewer vaults to be cleaned and an environmental scan to see if any of the chemicals had been released to the soil or groundwater.
“Over the past twenty years, Wholesale Printers has saved thousands of dollars by avoiding the regulations, and that gave them an unfair economic advantage over competitors,” said Edmonson. “Ultimately, while they saved money, they put people and the environment at risk.”
The $18,000 penalty could have been several thousand dollars higher if Ecology had included each violation. In determining the penalty amount, Ecology considers the size of a company, its responsiveness to Ecology and the seriousness of the problem.
Wholesale Printers has 30 days to respond to the penalty. It can pay the fine, ask Ecology to reconsider the facts of the investigation or appeal the fine to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
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Media Contact: Kim Schmanke, 360-407-6239 (desk)
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
