EPA sanctions defunct Tan garment factory

By Gemma Q. CasasVariety News Staff ... mv 110807

THE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is imposing a fine of up to $27,500 per day of violation on what was one of Saipan’s major garment factories for improper storage and handling of paint thinner and solvents at its site.The violation was first discovered in March 2004, and the defunct factory’s parent company, Tan Holdings Corp., could end up paying millions of dollar in fines.But Steven P. Pixley, chief legal counsel for Tan Holdings and general counsel for Concorde Garment Manufacturing Corp., said the violations occurred three and a half years ago.He said there are doubts about whether what the EPA inspectors found at the factory site was actually an environmental hazard.“Concorde is concerned about environmental issues,” he said in a statement. “Concorde has fully cooperated with the Environmental Protection Agency regarding this investigation.”“Based upon scientific testing information provided to Concorde by a private environmental consulting firm, there are questions about whether the materials observed by the EPA inspector were hazardous,” he added.According to the EPA, inspectors found 15 to 20 large plastic trash bags filled with open and leaking containers of solvent outside the Concorde facility.The EPA said this violates federal regulations requiring facilities to properly manage and dispose of hazardous wastes.“All facilities that handle used solvents must properly contain, manage and dispose of their wastes. Failure to do so jeopardizes the safety of the community, workers and the environment,” a statement from Nancy Lindsay, acting waste division director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region, reads.“In this case, the company decided to ignore the rules,” she added.The solvent bags should have been marked and the factory employees should have been trained to properly dispose of them, she said.The EPA said hazardous chemicals are not only a potential threat to the environment but to the people who work around them as well.“The hazardous waste must be properly disposed of and transported with an EPA hazardous waste shipping manifest,” said Lindsay.Concorde produced clothing from 1983 until its closure in Dec. 2006.