On September 13, 2017, Region III entered into a Consent Agreement with, and issued a Final Order to ArcelorMittal Weirton LLC, settling violations of RCRA Subtitle C that EPA inspectors observed during an inspection of the company's facility in Weirton, WV ( Facility ). The settlement will ensure that hazardous waste will be properly contained, managed and shipped offsite in the future. ArcelorMittal Weirton, a former large-scale steel mill, is now operating a steel electroplating facility along the Ohio River. Because this manufacturing process produces several byproducts which are hazardous waste, ArcelorMittal Weirton is required to comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the federally-authorized Virginia Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. RCRA is designed to protect human health and the environment by providing for the safe management of such hazardous wastes.
Among the concerns noted during the inspection were uncontained toxic hazardous waste, such as lead, cyanide and chromium - a known carcinogen - on equipment, the facility floor, and outside the facility building. By failing to properly manage hazardous waste, there is the potential for employees to be exposed to hazardous constituents or result in the release of hazardous constituents into the environment (i.e., soil, groundwater). The Consent Agreement alleges that ArcelorMittal (1) operated a hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility without a permit or inter