Just recently the Tidan Group was fined almost 1 million dollars for failing to comply to PCB regulations. They plead guilty to numerous charges totaling to 52. The Tidan Group is comprised of seven different companies. The regulations were put in place in 1999 by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In summation, it’s a regulation that mandates companies properly dispose of PCB’s. PCB’s are polychlorinated biphenyls. Tidan group not only did not dispose of the PCB’s correctly, they did not store or use them properly as well. Fortunately, the charges were not levied due to any chemical spills.
The Tidan group’s punishment does not end with the fine. The compliance failure also resulted in a massive reallocation of time and resources for the seven companies. They are being forced to publish articles that will be reviewed on their new procedures for staff, including training for proper handling of the PCB’s, and even further a regulated process of surveying and replacing their contaminated electrical equipment. In turn, it appears at first that they have been damaged significantly monetarily by the initial fine, but also the loss of time and inevitable money from the forced article reviews and restructuring their training program. In total the loss of revenue is actually much more significant than $1 million but nearly impossible to estimate without being involved with the company itself. Truly unfortunate to say the least. The companies are involved with a plethora of different industries, mainly construction. They’re currently involved with retail, residential, industrial properties, and numerous hospital properties in Canada and here in the states.
Preventing Fines with U.S. HAZMAT
Herein, it’s obvious that chemical storage is no joke. The Tidan group will be suffering from these failed compliance charges for years. PCB’s are a common chemical used in manufacturing, because they aid in durability as well as resistance to temperatures and light. Canada is highly opposed to PCB’s environmentally because of how dangerous they can be. They were outlawed from processing, sales, and importing since the late 70’s. The organizations involved in regulating chemical usage in Canada are very serious on keeping these chemicals out of the country in large doses. Small concentrations are allowed, but requirements are strict. The current enforced amount is anything above 50 mg. Even below this amount Canada requires serious documentation to be filed and kept at all times to regulate the storage, and mainly destruction of these chemicals.
What happened to the Tidan group is unfortunate, but failure to comply with standards for chemical storage and usage is just cause for punishment no matter what the facility is valued for. We understand that these situations are sometimes due to lack of information or ignorance on the part of the management. Therefore we strive to make chemical storage available with no stress and full compliance to all relevant regulations. U.S. HAZMAT will take your requirements and find the correct storage locker for you in every applicable situation. We understand how taxing and tedious understanding the correct chemical compliance can be, which is why we make it a part of our business and procedures to solve these issues for you. Call now for a free consultation from an industry leading professional.
