East Boston Sandblasting Company Faces Penalties for Hazardous Waste Violations

A Massachusetts sandblasting company faces a possible $116,331 penalty in an Administrative Complaint filed by EPA for failing to comply with hazardous waste management laws at its East Boston facility.

Amex operates a facility that conducts sandblasting of tanks, bridges and barges both on and off the site and is a large quantity generator of hazardous waste.

Upon inspection, EPA determined that Amex failed to determine whether the wastes it generated were hazardous, conduct inspections of its hazardous waste storage area, have satisfactory emergency preparedness planning and properly label hazardous waste containers. The company also lacked adequate training for handlers of hazardous waste, had an incomplete hazardous waste training plan and improperly diluted sandblast grit containing hazardous concentrations of lead as a substitute for appropriate treatment of the waste.

Amex’s violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) posed a significant risk of harm to human health and the environment. At the time of the inspection, no employees were trained in the physical, day-to-day management of hazardous waste. The failure of Amex to provide such training created the potential for mismanagement of hazardous waste, which could have resulted in the release or improper disposal of hazardous waste, thereby threatening human health and the environment. Amex’s improper dilution of lead-contaminated sandblast grit resulted in the shipment of that material to a solid waste landfill rather than a landfill authorized and designed to accept hazardous waste.

EPA’s order requires Amex to comply with RCRA regulations and to correct all violations cited in the complaint. Amex will also be required to submit documentation to the Agency demonstrating compliance.