[ADEQ Media] Attorney General Goddard and ADEQ Director Owens Announce Honeywell to Pay $500, 000 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Violations in Mohave County

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

Attorney General Goddard and ADEQ Director Owens Announce Honeywell to
Pay $500,000 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Violations in Mohave County

PHOENIX (February 23, 2007) - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Director Steve Owens
announced today that Honeywell International, Inc. will pay a $500,000
penalty under a consent judgment with ADEQ for hazardous waste
violations in Mohave County. 

In September 2005, ADEQ inspectors discovered that the Honeywell
Aircraft Landing Systems facility in Kingman, an FAA-certified repair
and overhaul station for aircraft wheels and brakes, was operating two
natural gas-fired hazardous waste thermal treatment units without the
required hazardous waste treatment permit.

"I am committed to enforcing hazardous waste laws," Goddard said. "These
laws protect our communities, and I will continue to seek penalties from
companies that violate these laws." 

Owens stated, "Arizona's hazardous waste laws and regulations were
established for protection of the public and the environment. This
penalty reflects the serious nature of the violations at Honeywell's
Kingman facility."

ADEQ issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Honeywell Kingman on November
15, 2005, for thermally treating its hazardous waste without a permit,
failing to submit signed manifests, failing to properly label each
container and tank as hazardous waste, failing to inform employees of
proper handling and emergency procedures and failing to comply with
personnel training requirements.

ADEQ also found that Honeywell was underreporting its hazardous waste,
inaccurately classifying it as solid waste by using an incorrect
regulatory level for cadmium, an element that may irritate the digestive
tract, cause kidney disease and damage the lungs. Cadmium stays in the
body and can build up from many years of exposure to low levels.

The consent judgment is subject to court approval.

-end-

News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
communications@azdeq.gov.