AT&T has agreed to pay a $23.8 million fine in California connected to unlawfully disposing of hazardous waste over a nine-year period. The settlement also calls for the telecom giant to spend $28 million over the next five years to update its environmental compliance measures.
The case was based on inspections conducted in 2011 at more than 235 AT&T warehouse and dispatch facilities in which investigators found the telecom company had unlawfully handled and disposed of “various hazardous wastes and materials” over that nine-year period. The materials reportedly consisted of electronic equipment, batteries, aerosol cans, and certain gels, liquids and other items used by AT&T service technicians in “delivering telephone, Internet and video services to residential and business customers in California.” Those materials had been “routinely and systematically” sent to local landfills that were not permitted to handle the waste.
The settlement noted that AT&T immediately agreed to cooperate and immediately stop the removal of regular trash from its facilities until it could inspect and remove the hazardous materials. AT&T also threw additional resources toward its environmental compliance and moved to improve management compliance programs regarding waste removal.
As part of its planned $28 million in updating compliance measures, AT&T has reportedly installed “multiple layers of protection against electronic waste getting into its regular trash, including inspections of ‘staging bins’ before their contents are deposited in dumpsters, hundreds of unannounced dumpster inspections annually and three independent audits over five years.”
A report from Reuters also noted that Verizon Communications was subject of a similar investigation in California earlier this year.
AT&T’s civil settlement, which was filed in Alameda County Superior Court, was announced by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley and Attorney General Kamala Harris, and requires approval from the court before being enacted. The legal team noted that the enforcement action was the first in the state related to a telecommunications company mishandling the management of electronics waste.
“This settlement holds AT&T accountable for unlawfully dumping electronic waste,” Harris said. “The illegal disposal of hazardous waste can lead to serious environmental and health risks for California communities. AT&T will be required to implement strict compliance measures at its facilities that set an example for other companies to safeguard our communities against hazardous waste.”
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