$65,000 Penalty Against Roadway Express

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens & Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced that Roadway Express, Inc., has agreed to pay $65,000 in civil penalties for violations of the Arizona Hazardous Waste Management Act. The company, based in Akron, Ohio, transports industrial, commercial & retail goods.

On Sept. 17th, 2004, a tractor trailer stored at the company's 2021 S. 51st Ave. trucking hub facility in Phoenix caught fire when hazardous waste illegally stored in the trailer spontaneously combusted. A second tractor trailer also caught fire during the incident. Fire extinguishers were stored inside the tractor trailers & were therefore not available for use when the fire started.

"The company's improper storage of hazardous waste posed a threat to the public, the environment, & the company's own employees," Owens said. "It's fortunate that no one was injured in this event. The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the violations."

ADEQ's Emergency Response Unit was called to the scene by the Phoenix Fire Department to assist with the response effort. During a subsequent inspection of the facility, ADEQ discovered the wastes had been stored for more than one year in an undivided tractor trailer without any ventilation or means of separating the incompatible materials, in violation of Arizona's hazardous waste laws. The wastes included approx., 30 containers of corrosive acids & bases, batteries, the solvent methyl ethyl ketone, & xylene, a solvent that is also an element of gasoline.

In Nov. 2004, ADEQ issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the company for storage of hazardous waste without a permit, failure to prevent accidental ignition or reaction of ignitable or reactive hazardous waste, failure to segregate incompatible hazardous waste, & failure to submit hazardous waste manifests to ADEQ.

"The Attorney General's Office and ADEQ continue to prosecute companies that violate the hazardous waste laws," Goddard said. "Roadway's improper operation of its facility & the resulting fire created potential harm to the public & environment. Companies must make an ongoing commitment to comply with Arizona's environmental laws.'"

The settlement is subject to court approval.