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Apple Settles With EPA After Hazardous Waste Violations at California Facility

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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Apple over claims of hazardous waste management at a semiconductor facility in Santa Clara, California.

apple park drone june 2018 2
Apple has addressed the hazardous waste management and air emissions issues, and is now in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, according to the EPA.

The EPA investigated Apple's facility after receiving a complaint about it, discovering that Apple had not properly labeled hazardous waste containers or controlled air emissions from a solvent waste tank, among other violations.

Apple fixed the waste management issues and installed a device to control air emissions. Apple is also paying a $261,283 penalty.

The facility is located next to apartment buildings in Santa Clara, and at least one resident complained of falling ill due to the emissions. Earlier this month, Apple spokesperson Sean Redding told SFGATE that Apple is committed to environmental protection. "The issues posed no risks to the environment and were quickly resolved, and we remain deeply committed to protecting the environment everywhere we operate," Redding said.

Top Rated Comments

Jack Burton Avatar
Jack Burton
19 weeks ago
Do better if you are gonna put out stuff like this



Attachment Image
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
moabal
19 weeks ago
Octavia Spencer as "Mother Nature" is rolling her eyes.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
N
now i see it
19 weeks ago
"and we remain deeply committed to protecting the environment everywhere we operate,"

Especially when we get sued by the EPA
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Return Zero Avatar
Return Zero
19 weeks ago
I'm 100% for environmental protection, but I work in the utilities industry, and can confidently say that a sizable portion of EPA regulations are such poorly-written hogwash that they just end up just getting pencil-whipped anyway, even by the most ethical companies out there. The number of times I've had to listen to CEMS vs. PEMS debates and how quickly fines start to accrue when the system glitches out even for a short duration is astounding. I feel like I've generated more excess CO2 just getting worked up at these meetings than the systems themselves are even helping to monitor.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SPUY767 Avatar
SPUY767
19 weeks ago

"and we remain deeply committed to protecting the environment everywhere we operate,"

Especially when we get sued by the EPA
I'd like to point out that getting sued by the EPA doesn't mean you did anything wrong as the laws are very vague and depending on who interprets them, they can mean vastly different things. I had the EPA visit me in 2017 for collecting rainwater for irrigation of a small garden because I was interfering with the river on the border of my property by capturing ~50 gallons of rainwater running off the roof.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
F
firewood
19 weeks ago
The picture is of the Apple Park spaceship, but the problem site is several miles North in Santa Clara.

Little known fact: The heath club at Apple Park is very near a spot in the parking lot of the old Hewlett Packard complex that required clean up from a toxic spill from HP's old semiconductor research lab on that same site.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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