Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune, September 26, 2013
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
Rite Aid is the latest big chain store to pay a multimillion- dollar settlement for dumping hazardous materials from its shelves into landfills.
This week, the drugstore chain was slapped with $12 million in civil penalties and other costs, and ordered to adopt new policies to prevent further damage to the environment.
“This settlement changes the long-standing practices of a major corporation that illegally transported and disposed of hazardous materials from hundreds of locations throughout California,” District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.
The complaint accused Rite Aid, whose website says it is a “caring neighbor” with a “commitment to wellness,” of tossing toxic, flammable and corrosive materials into Dumpsters, sinks and toilets, as well as landfills.
The hazardous materials supposedly included medications, bleach, photo-processing chemicals, pool chlorine and acids, pesticides, fertilizers, batteries, paints, lamp oil, aerosol products and cleaning agents.
Many of the items had been tossed out because they were damaged, or had leaked or spilled. Some had been customer returns.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wright said regulators discovered the problems in 2009, prompting inspections at some of Rite Aid’s 600 locations in California.
“We just wanted them to be compliant with the law before anything bad happened,” he said.
Rite Aid, headquartered in Pennsylvania, did not admit wrongdoing but vowed to cooperate.
“We are pleased to have worked with the California district attorney to resolve this environmental matter and remain committed to cooperating with the environmental regulators and complying with California environmental laws,” it said in an electronic statement.
Over the last several years, similar environmental lawsuits have forced many other big chain stores to clean up and pay up. Walgreens paid $16 million, and CVS, $14 million, last year.
Home Depot paid $10 million in 2011 after a 55-gallon drum at Marina del Rey store burst into flames because chemicals had inadvertently been mixed into an explosive brew.
“There was a fire that was pretty much impossible to put out, but luckily no one was hurt,” Wright said.
Target initially fought a lawsuit, which accused an employee of dumping leaking containers of pool chlorine into a Sacramento store’s trash compactor already filled with other chemicals. The resulting toxic fumes prompted an evacuation and sent people to hospitals.
Target was also accused of donating about 5,000 pounds of damaged, leaking and unusable items with flammable, toxic and corrosive properties to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.
“They were fighting very, very hard against our lawsuit when a fire broke out in one of their Dumpsters in Redondo Beach,” Wright said. “The store caught fire and a firefighter was injured, and none of their alarms or sprinklers apparently worked.”
Target ended up settling for $22 million.
“We’re at the tail end of these prosecutions, and companies are fully aware now,” Wright said. “I think most stores are probably in compliance now.”
Wal-Mart, however, did not seem to learn its lesson the first time. It paid $28 million to settle a lawsuit over hazardous waste disposal in 2010, and then paid $82 million more last May after committing new violations.