Two Central Mass. labs ordered to pay $1.05M
Two Central Massachusetts-based environmental laboratories, accused of failing to control hazardous air pollution emissions, agreed Tuesday to settle and pay the state a combined penalty of $1.05 million.
The attorney general’s office said Westborough-based Alpha Analytical and Accutest Laboratories, which has operations in Marlborough, failed to obtain required state permits and emitted pollutants near homes, hospitals, schools and other commercial buildings.
Alpha was also dinged for reportedly mislabeling containers of hazardous waste, failing to take required safety precautions and improperly operating a wastewater treatment system in Westborough, resulting in a total fine of $700,000. They didn’t return a call seeking comment.
Meanwhile, Accutest, which did not have the additional issues, agreed to pay $350,000.
“We have cooperated fully with the Massachusetts Attorney General to address the issue raised at our Marlborough facility and are voluntarily undertaking a review of all our laboratories across the country to ensure that we meet and exceed these commitments,” Gene Malloy, Accutest president and CEO, said in a statement.
The settlement agreement is not an admission of guilt by Alpha or Accutest.
“We hope these actions will spur a national discussion about controlling laboratory-sector hazardous air-pollution emissions,” Att. Gen. Martha Coakley said in a statement.
The agreements with Alpha and Accutest were part of a $1.75 million settlement involving the commonwealth’s four biggest environment lab testing operators, Coakley said.
As part of the deal, Coakley said the companies will install equipment that will reduce hazardous air pollutant emissions by 95 percent.
In addition, Alpha will comply with the air permits issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Coakley said, while Accutest must complete the air permitting process for its facility.
Hazardous air pollutants emitted from these labs can cause cancer and serious respiratory and reproductive problems, the attorney general’s office said, while volatile organic compounds from the labs lead to the formation of ground-level ozone, which can result in asthma or even premature death.
Updated at 4:30 p.m. with comments from Accutest.
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