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EPA and Wilmington Company Settle Hazardous Waste Violations

Release Date: 10/07/2008
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA (October 7, 2008) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Noramco, Inc. have settled alleged violations of hazardous waste regulations at the company’s facility at 500 Swedes Landing Road, Wilmington, Del., and the company has agreed to pay a $115,934 civil penalty.

EPA cited Noramco, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the federal law governing the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment, and avoid costly cleanups by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste.

Based on two inspections of the facility in 2006 and records subsequently provided to EPA by Noramco, EPA alleges that Noramco had violated RCRA by failing to perform monthly monitoring and weekly inspections of valves and pumps in contact with hazardous waste; conduct and record daily inspection of hazardous waste storage tanks; obtain and keep on file hazardous waste storage tank design certifications; record information regarding valves and pumps in contact with hazardous waste in the facility operating log; and have a RCRA permit for the storage of hazardous waste, or to satisfy the conditions necessary to qualify for a RCRA permit exemption, and for storing land disposal restricted hazardous waste.

The violations cited by EPA involve inspection and recordkeeping requirements related to hazardous waste storage and not releases of hazardous waste. As part of the settlement, Noramco has neither admitted nor denied liability for the violations but has certified its compliance with applicable RCRA requirements.

For more information about hazardous waste and RCRA, visit www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/hazwaste.htm