Phoenix Firm to Pay $25,000 for Hazardous Waste Violations

(Phoenix, Ariz. – Oct. 29, 2007) Attorney General Terry Goddard and Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens announced today that Jet Products Company will pay a $25,000 civil penalty for violations of Arizona’s Hazardous Waste Management Act.

In February 2006, ADEQ cited Jet Products for 17 major violations at the company’s facility at 2600 W. Quail Ave. in Phoenix, including improperly disposing of waste contaminated with methyl ethyl ketone and chromium as solid waste rather than hazardous waste, failing to perform hazardous waste determinations for those wastes, illegally storing hazardous waste longer than permitted, failing to perform regular training and failing to submit required waste manifests to ADEQ.

The violations were discovered by ADEQ inspectors during a compliance inspection of the Jet Products facility in December 2005.

Jet Products coats, paints, tests and assembles aluminum parts for the defense, aerospace and aircraft industries.

In addition to paying the $25,000 penalty, the company also will be required to implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) to ensure that it follows state environmental laws in the future.

“Jet Products’ failure to comply with the law put its workers and the community at risk,” Owens said. “These were serious violations.”

“The Attorney General’s Office and ADEQ will continue to pursue companies that violate hazardous waste laws,” Goddard said. “In this case, Jet Products must not only pay a financial penalty but also implement a program to analyze environmental issues on a company-wide basis to keep it fully compliant with the Arizona Hazardous Waste Management Act.”

Jet Products’ EMS will be monitored by an auditor, who will be determined at a later date. Failure to comply with the consent judgment could lead to additional penalties of $50,000 or more.