Dlubak Glass Co., Inc. has agreed to pay $120,000 in a consent judgment approved in Maricopa County Superior Court for hazardous waste violations in the storage and recycling of cathode ray tube (CRT) glass at its Yuma facility.
According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, during an inspection at Dlubak’s recycling company, located at 19538 S. Avenue 1 East in Yuma, ADEQ inspectors found broken CRT glass throughout the five-acre facility and stained soil in several locations. The stained soil also was observed extending about 20 feet into an orchard adjoining the Dlubak property.
Samples taken on the property found levels of lead as much as 75 times more than the maximum federal and state exceedance level of five milligrams per liter.
In addition, the broken glass was stored in open, unlabeled cardboard containers and washing activities were conducted on an outdoor concrete pad. State regulations require that all CRT storage and processing activities be conducted within a building with a roof, floor and walls.
“Their unlawful management of hazardous waste put employees and the environment at risk,” said ADEQ Director Henry Darwin. “But they hired environmental consultants, changed their operating procedures and did the soil cleanup in reaching a resolution in the case.”
According to its Website, Dlubak Glass is the largest American recycler of TV and CRT glass in the country. In addition to its facility in Yuma, Dlubak Glass has other plants located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Texas and Oklahoma.