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EPA Charges Xerox with Violations of Regs Aimed at Preventing Air Releases

Release Date: 04/09/2001
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(#01027) New York, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged the Xerox Corporation with violations of agency regulations designed to prevent releases to the air of volatile organic compounds from containers and equipment used to manage hazardous waste. An August 2000 inspection of Xerox’ facility at 800 Phillips Road in Webster, New York and information later provided by the company led EPA to identify the violations, which involved tanks, valves and pumps used to store and transport hazardous waste. EPA is seeking a penalty of $126,431 for the violations. "Our regulations were designed to ensure that volatile organic compounds are not released into the environment from equipment at facilities like Xerox’," said William J. Muszynski, EPA Acting Regional Administrator. "This group of chemicals evaporates very easily into the air, can be harmful to human health and plays a major role in the formation of smog. It is essential that companies that have these chemicals in their waste follow EPA regulations very carefully to ensure that they don’t escape into our environment." Xerox generates hazardous waste containing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as part of its day-to-day manufacturing activities. Companies like Xerox often use a system of pipes to transport the waste around their facilities, and tanks and containers to store the waste before it is treated or disposed of. EPA regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) – the federal law governing how hazardous waste is handled – put procedures in place to ensure that tanks and equipment carrying waste containing VOCs do not allow chemicals to be released into the air. The violations EPA charged include: failing to inspect three tanks to ensure that their roofs and closure devices had no defects that could allow pollutants to escape; failing to determine in a timely manner whether six containers used to store hazardous waste were releasing VOCs into the air; and not performing timely leak detection tests on 176 valves and 11 pumps that are part of a system of pipes transporting hazardous waste at the facility. This action resulted from EPA Region 2's ongoing initiative to inspect large facilities to determine whether they are in compliance with RCRA air emission regulations. Xerox has 30 days to respond to EPA’s complaint. In addition to seeking a $126,431 penalty, EPA has ordered the company to immediately comply with all federal RCRA requirements regarding the management of hazardous wastes containing VOCs.