Heartland Plating ordered to address hazmat issues at metal electroplating facility

Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 has ordered Heartland Plating Company of Bettendorf, Iowa, and its owners to immediately address a series of issues related to the improper storage and management of hazardous wastes at the metal electroplating facility.

Last month, EPA representatives inspected Heartland Plating’s operations at 3900 Elm Street in Bettendorf, and documented throughout the facility spilled and abandoned materials for which the company’s representatives could not provide complete and accurate hazardous waste determinations.

Based on container labels and information provided by Heartland employees, EPA inspectors were able to determine that the company was storing or treating a number of wastes, including chromium, zinc, cyanide, cobalt, potassium permanganate, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide.

A unilateral administrative order issued today in Kansas City, Kan., requires Heartland Plating and its owners, Marion Patigler and the estate of Gerhard Patigler, to take several immediate actions to address violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The order directs the respondents to refrain from removing or relocating materials currently located at the facility until EPA determines the waste is being handled safely; immediately certify compliance with hazardous waste regulations or halt the generation and management of wastes until such certification can be made; identify all solid and hazardous wastes currently being treated, stored or disposed at the facility; and restrict access to areas of the property where solid and hazardous wastes have been stored or disposed, and to areas where hazardous material has been released.

Additionally, the respondents are ordered to formulate a plan for proper management or disposal of all solid and hazardous wastes at the facility in compliance with RCRA regulations, and to conduct an investigation to determine if wastes have migrated off the site. They must also undertake an immediate cleanup of any hazardous releases on the property, as well as a cleanup of the building and any surrounding areas that may be contaminated.