These 2 companies in Long Beach, Torrance hit with fines for hazardous waste violation

In a crackdown on hazardous waste air emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday fined two Southe Califoia companies a combined total of about $130,000 and ordered rigorous monitoring of possible cancer-causing releases.

Crosby & Overton, a hazardous waste treatment plant in Long Beach, agreed to pay a fine of $78,570 for failure to properly store broken batteries and for not conducting adequate monitoring for hazardous waste air emissions.

In Torrance, Swiss pharmaceutical company Bachem Americas, Inc. 3132 Kashiwa St., will pay a penalty of $22,376 and was ordered to spend $29,000 in support of the Torrance Fire Department’s city inventory of hazardous chemicals for better responses to emergencies, said the EPA.

“Basically it is iPads and laptops,” said Richard Kazandjian, fire prevention manager for the Torrance Fire Department. “They will be used for emergency plaing and preparedness and for gathering and storing data.” Kazandjian said the department received the equipment Monday and fire persoel will be trained on how to use them in the field during the next few weeks.

Both companies have corrected the violations found, the EPA reported. Neither companies retued phone call inquiries made by this newspaper.

“Whether a company generates its own hazardous waste or treats waste from offsite, the material must be handled correctly to keep surrounding communities safe,” said Kathleen Johnson, EPA’s Enforcement Division Director for the Pacific Southwest.

“Air emissions and hazardous waste were not released into the environment at any of the facilities because of these violations,” said Soledad Calvino, spokeswoman for EPA.

Johnson said the EPA is working with state officials to ensure hazardous waste facilities throughout the West are abiding by the rules, especially with regard to the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s regulations on waste air emissions. Toxic chemicals can pose a particular risk to communities and employees through fires and explosions or leaks causing “ground level toxins,” according to the EPA.

At Bachem, hazardous wastes present include: acetonitrile, a flammable material and trifluoroacetic acid, a corrosive agent, according to the EPA. The company failed to inspect and monitor waste storage tanks for leaks.

The EPA inspected the Crosby & Overton facility, located at 1630 W. 17th St. in Long Beach in August 2014 and found broken batteries not properly stored. EPA inspectors also found the company did not conduct inspections of hazardous waste materials and air emissions and didn’t properly use a pump for pumping paint waste.

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The Califoia Department of Toxic Substances Control had opened a public comment period in June and July 2014 on whether to grant Crosby & Overton a new hazardous waste permit. A new, 10-year permit was issued on Aug. 22, 2014, around the same time the EPA found the violations, according to DTSC records. The DTSC records show the company’s permit is active until 2024.

Crosby & Overton can accept up to 200 gallons of hazardous waste per minute but is limited to 43,750 gallons per day, according to the permit. The maximum number of 55-gallon waste storage drums allowed on the premises at one time is 656.