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April 17, 2007

PM Testing, Ecology settle on upgrades

OLYMPIA — The metal finishing company PM Testing of Fife will pay a $42,000 penalty and install new equipment as part of a settlement with the Washington State Department of Ecology.

PM Testing tests, cleans and finishes metal products for the military and aerospace industry and uses corrosive and toxic chemicals.

Ecology said it first fined PM Testing $103,000 last June after finding numerous violations of federal and state rules on dangerous waste. PM Testing appealed the penalty and Ecology agreed to reduce it if the company would make some changes at the Fife plant.

One change is an ion exchange system that will allow almost 100 percent of wastewater from the metal finishing line to be recycled back into the processing line. The other change will help keep process chemicals and rinse water in tanks and off the floor. Ecology said this will save almost three million gallons of water a year and reduce the amount of toxic chemicals used.

Ecology will also defer another $20,000 in penalties if PM Testing keeps a clean record for two years and meets settlement conditions.




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