Philip Announces Plans To Close Hazwaste Plant

Date: January 17, 2002

Source: News Room

A hazardous-waste company fined more than $1 million last year for mishandling waste will close its Georgetown, Washington facility eight years before its permit expires as part of a settlement with environmental regulators. Philip Services at the end of next year will shut down its Georgetown plant, where it has been cleaning up polluted ground water heading toward the Duwamish River, and begin shipping its hazardous waste to other facilities the company owns in Kent and Tacoma. Philip Services, one of the largest waste-handling companies on the continent, took over the Georgetown facility nearly a decade ago, inheriting a spill of toxic benzene and solvents that had contaminated ground water. While some residents complained the spill exposed them to chemicals that were making them sick, state and federal tests indicated that wasn't likely. Under the settlement agreement, the company will pay $136,115 in penalties but will spend $2.2 million to expedite closure of the facility. It will continue to clean up the underground spill.

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