Former owner of Tacoma hazardous materials facility to pay $2.2M for safety violations

Following multiple accidents and safety violations, a Tacoma hazardous waste facility has agreed to a $2.2 million settlement with the Washington Department of Ecology.

One of two commercial hazardous waste processing businesses in the state, the Tacoma Stericycle facility was plagued by multiple safety incidents over the past two years, according to the Department of Ecology.

The facility recently changed hands. As of two months ago, it is owned by Clean Earth, another specialty waste company.

Averil Rance, Clean Earth’s senior vice president of Environmental Health and Safety, said in a June 9 press release the company is committed to safety.

“It is important to point out that these violations occurred almost two years prior to our ownership of the facility and run contrary to our vision, mission and shared values,” Rance said. “We are confident that, since our acquisition two months ago, the facility has put in place robust compliance, governance, safety and environmental procedures to prevent another unfortunate incident from taking place.”

Efforts to reach Stericycle representatives were unsuccessful.

The facility, located in the Tideflats area, was the site of a July 2018 fire. The fire was caused by a large shipment of a hazardous chemical called tetrazole, which is used to inflate airbags in cars.

The Department of Ecology alleged that rather than send the waste to a licensed incinerator, the company emptied several of the drums containing the tetrazole and planned to place part of the shipment on a rail car to be sent to a landfill.

During that process, a large fire broke out. If the waste had not caught fire, it would have been transported through communities by train, a potentially dangerous situation, according to the Department of Ecology.

No employees were harmed, though there was some worry about potential negative impacts on people living downwind of the fire.

The Department of Ecology said Stericycle failed to give complete documentation about the accident or adequately manage the waste left by the fire.

A month after the fire, an inspection by the Department of Ecology following the fire found multiple violations at the facility, including a lack of required employee training.

Three months later, another, smaller fire occurred at the facility after chemicals mixed in the facility’s shredder. The Department of Ecology sent a letter in 2017 to the company warning it against allowing chemicals to mix in the shredder. No employees were harmed.

Following these incidents, Stericycle was given a $1.9 million fine in October 2019. The Department of Ecology also required it to comply with regulations or lose its permit for operation. Stericycle unsuccessfully appealed the fine in late 2019.

In addition to Stericycle’s payment of the fine, the Department of Ecology said the recent settlement means the facility will operate with permit modifications. These include testing during waste processing and employee training.

“It’s unacceptable for any business to put its workers, the public and the environment in serious danger,” said Department of Ecology Director Laura Watson in a June 9 press release. “The company must meet all training and operational commitments in the settlement to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 5:10 AM.