News Release

T – 5 – 20
Meredith Williams, Director

Contact: Russ Edmondson
(916) 323-3372
russ.edmondson@dtsc.ca.gov
Abbott Dutton
Abbott.Dutton@dtsc.ca.gov

DTSC Files Civil Complaint Against Sacramento-Area Hazardous Waste Facility for Repeat Violations of Hazardous Waste Laws

SACRAMENTO – The Department of Toxic Substances Control has filed suit against General Environmental Management of Rancho Cordova LLC, Stericycle Environmental Solutions Inc., and Stericycle, Inc. (GEM/Stericycle), because of numerous serious and repeat alleged violations of California’s hazardous waste laws.

The complaint, filed in Superior Court in Sacramento County, stems from a 2018 DTSC inspection at the GEM/Stericycle facility located at 11855 White Rock Road in Rancho Cordova. The violations include the mismanagement of incompatible hazardous wastes, the improper storage of hazardous waste, and the failure to follow required safety protocols while combining hazardous waste onsite.

The Hazardous Waste Control Law authorizes DTSC to assess a penalty up to $70,000 for each separate violation, and for ongoing violations, for each day it continues. 

In a 2018 settlement with DTSC, for violations identified between 2011-17, GEM/Stericycle, which handles a wide variety of hazardous waste with a focus on combining and consolidating it, agreed to pay more than $1.4 million in civil penalties. In 2017, employees intentionally ignited hazardous waste containing naphthalene, a flammable substance. Two earlier fires and an explosion at the facility were caused by the mismanagement of incompatible hazardous wastes or wastes that can become dangerous when mixed together.

View the complaint here and other GEM /Stericycle related documents here.

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FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES: Contact the Department of Toxic Substances Control by phone at (800) 728-6942 or visit www.dtsc.ca.gov. To report illegal handling, discharge, or disposal of hazardous waste, call the Waste Alert Hotline at (800) 698-6942.