State Seeks $265,000 Northrop Fine

State health officials are seeking to levy $265,000 in fines on the Northrop Corp., after an inspection of a company facility in Hawthorne turned up 11 violations of state hazardous waste laws.

The facility, part of Northrop’s aircraft division, is used for the temporary storage and transfer of hazardous waste from company plants. State health inspectors found problems ranging from faulty record-keeping to improper storage of hazardous waste, state Department of Health Services spokesman Rich Varenchik said Thursday.

Northrop resolved the hazardous waste problems soon after health officials pointed them out and will seek to reduce the proposed penalties, company spokesman Ron Owens said Friday.

If the department imposes the fines as proposed, it will mark the aerospace company’s second costly tangle with health officials this year. In February, Northrop agreed to pay $202,500 in fines and to spend $450,000 on corrective measures in connection with other hazardous waste problems at its Hawthorne facilities.