[ADEQ Media] Automation Plating to Pay $100, 000 in Civil Penalties for Hazardous Waste Violations in Tucson

[media@lists.azdeq.gov]

Automation Plating to Pay $100,000 in Civil Penalties for Hazardous
Waste Violations in Tucson

PHOENIX (March 23, 2009) - Automation Plating, a California based
electroplating company in Tucson, has agreed to pay a $100,000 civil
penalty for hazardous waste violations in the latest settlement
resulting from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's
"Plating Initiative." 

Since 2007, seven Arizona electroplating facilities that were not in
compliance with hazardous-waste rules have been brought into voluntary
compliance. 

"As a result of this initiative to increase oversight of the
electroplating industry, most of the facilities inspected by ADEQ
improved procedures to ensure that hazardous waste is managed
appropriately," said Patrick Cunningham, ADEQ's acting director.  "The
goal of this initiative is to better protect human health and the
environment in Arizona."

ADEQ launched the initiative after plant inspections in 2004 and 2005
showed that many electroplating facilities were not in compliance with
the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which
regulates hazardous waste.

Most problems with electroplating facilities involve mismanagement of
chromium VI, an odorless, tasteless chemical which has been known to
cause lung and stomach cancer, asthma and other respiratory ailments,
ulcers, anemia, allergic reactions, developmental problems in children,
and damage to the male reproductive system.  

In 2005, after a worker was trapped in a chemical tank at Automation
Plating's Tucson facility and killed, the Pima County Department of
Environmental Quality (PDEQ) forwarded the case to ADEQ. 

During the subsequent inspection and a 2007 inspection conducted by PDEQ
at ADEQ's request, PDEQ found many RCRA violations, including failures
to minimize the risk of a hazardous waste release, to prevent leaks from
tanks, to respond to a leaking tank, to label containers of hazardous
waste, to train employees to manage hazardous waste, to conduct weekly
inspections, and to have an emergency plan.

In addition to the civil penalty, Automation Plating has also cleaned up
its site and conducted an assessment for ADEQ to confirm that all
hazardous waste was cleaned up.

-30-

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.

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