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PROPOSED $244,820 PENALTY AGAINST OCCIDENTAL CHEMICAL PLANT IN BELLE

Release Date: 10/13/1998
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith (215) 814-5543 William Smith (215) 814-5543

PHILADELPHIA -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that it has cited Occidental Chemical Corp. for violating hazardous waste regulations at its chemical manufacturing facility in Belle, W.Va.

EPA’s administrative complaint proposes a $244,820 penalty for several violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), a federal law regulating the  treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.  

The alleged violations were documented in inspections by the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection (WVDEP).  In the complaint, EPA alleges that the company violated RCRA by:

* storing hazardous wastes (including methylene chloride, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride)  in three railcars without a permit from before 1993 through October 1994.

* failing to keep records of required inspections of the hazardous waste in the railcars.

* storing waste filters contaminated by methylene chloride, chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in open containers without a permit at the time of WVDEP’s 1994 inspections.

* storing carbon tetrachloride and chloroform sump waste outdoors without a permit from October 24 to November 2, 1994.

* failing to properly track manifests of five November 1994 hazardous waste shipments.

* storing containers of hazardous waste without appropriate labels or accumulation dates without a permit at the time of WVDEP inspections in early 1995.

The company may request a hearing to contest the alleged violations and the penalty proposed in EPA’s complaint.  

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