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Maine Laboratory Agrees to $12,500 Fine and Audits For Hazardous Waste Violations

Release Date: 09/24/2002
Contact Information: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1008

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that Katahdin Analytical Services Inc. of Westbrook, Maine has agreed to perform independent environmental compliance audits and pay $12,500 to settle a complaint of hazardous waste storage and handling violations.

"Katahdin has been very cooperative in addressing the waste handling violations that EPA found," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office. "EPA is pleased that we have an agreement that should help ensure clean, safe operations at the company as it grows in the future."

Katahdin is an analytical laboratory employing about 60 people, including field staff, at its Westbrook facility. It generates hazardous waste through its laboratory operations and also disposes samples from its customers.

EPA's complaint alleged that Katahdin improperly stored hazardous wastes without a permit – in some cases, for over four years. EPA's June 2000 inspection also revealed significant violations of other waste management regulations. These violations could potentially have been harmful to company employees.

Under the settlement announced today, Katahdin will pay a fine of $12,500. It also will conduct facility-wide multimedia audits for five consecutive years, including at least four by its own personnel and at least two by independent consultants who will report results to both Katahdin and EPA.

EPA believes that since the inspection, Katahdin has come into compliance.

A 2000 audit of Katahdin by an EPA contractor reviewed its procedures for ensuring accurate results, and approved it as a lab capable of meeting analytic standards for the federal government. EPA has no information causing it to question the accuracy of Katahdin's analytic testing results or Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures.