Waste Hauler Fined for Chemical Leak
A Camarillo-based hazardous waste hauler was ordered to pay $2,700 in a criminal case stemming from a 1995 incident in which noxious fumes escaped from a company truck and forced the evacuation of a Chatsworth business complex.
J. Concepcion Carrera, 40, an employee of King Hazardous Waste Co., was transporting 100 gallons of nitric acid and water on Aug. 8, 1995, when the toxic mixture reacted chemically with residue from an earlier load of waste water and sludge. Fumes and vapors began leaking from his tanker truck.
A resident alerted authorities of the chemical leak, and police evacuated the the 9600 block of Cozycroft Avenue in Chatsworth.
There were no injuries or property damage.
The company was charged with failing to notify authorities of the release of hazardous waste, failing to properly place warning placards on the tanker truck, and failing to properly mark a tank that was carrying hazardous waste.
Los Angeles Municipal Judge Harold Crowder imposed the sentence after King Hazardous Waste Co. admitted guilt to one count each of improperly transporting hazardous waste and failure to notify the California Highway Patrol and other agencies of the hazardous chemical leak.
Crowder also placed the waste business on two years probation.
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