Columbia lab violates EPA hazardous waste regulations

Inspections completed by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed Columbia’s Analytical Bio Chemistry Laboratories violated hazardous waste regulations in 2012.

The inspections concluded the company violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) related to the storage and handling of hazardous waste at each facility.

The company agreed to pay a $19,040 civil penalty to settle allegations that it violated RCRA.

ABC Labs on Discovery Drive is a contract lab that deals with pharmaceutical and agricultural product development. The facility on ABC Lane is a contract lab that serves agri-chemical, pharmaceutical, bio-pharmaceutical and animal health industries.

Both are considered large quantity generators that produce 1,000 kilograms of hazardous waste per month.

According to an administrative consent agreement filed by the EPA branch in Lenexa, Kansas, each of the ABC labs operated as a treatment, storage, or disposal facility without a RCRA permit by failing to comply with the generator requirements of the regulation.

The company also didn’t conduct weekly hazardous waste inspections, list the emergency coordinator’s contact information in a contingency plan, and failed to train the program director in hazardous waste management procedures.

By agreeing to a settlement with the EPA, ABC Labs is now in compliance with RCRA.

The company released this statement following the findings.