America’s largest retailer and employer has been fined over $100 million for violating environmental regulations by disposing of fertilizer, pesticide and bleach in sewage systems across the country, among other violations.
Walmart pleaded guilty to six counts of violating the Clean Water
Act by disposing of hazardous chemicals in garbage receptacles
and sewage systems at over 4,000 retail outlets across the United
States in court cases filed by the cities of Los Angeles and San
Francisco.
The US Justice Department said Walmart was also found guilty of
violating federal law by mixing together pesticides at a Missouri
recycling facility and then reselling them in a process that
violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA).
The state of California opened an investigation into the
Bentonville, Arkansas-based company in 2005 when a San Diego
County Health Department inspector witnessed a Walmart employee
discarding bleach down a sewer drain.
In another instance, investigators said a boy was found playing
in a mound of fertilizer near a Walmart garden section. The
product contained ammonium sulfate, a chemical compound that
causes irritation to people's skin, eyes and respiratory tract,
USA Today reported.
“As one of the largest retailers in the United States, Walmart
is responsible not only for the stock on its shelves but also for
the significant amount of hazardous materials that result from
damaged products returned by customers,” said Melinda Haag,
US Attorney for the Northern District of California. “The
crimes in these cases stem from Walmart’s failure to comply with
the regulations designed to ensure the proper handling, storage,
and disposal of those hazardous materials and waste.”
Court records show the illegal dumping happened in 16 California
counties between 2003 and 2005. Federal prosecutors said Walmart
failed to train its employees on how to handle and dispose of
hazardous waste material at its outlets.
Walmart agreed to pay more than $110 million in penalties to end
the decades-long investigation, the Department of Justice said.
Ignacia Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division,
suggested the retail giant’s gross violation of environmental
regulations may have helped its performance against the
competition.
"By improperly handling hazardous waste, pesticides and other
materials in violation of federal laws, Walmart put the public
and the environment at risk and gained an unfair economic
advantage over other companies," Moreno said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also weighed in on the
court case.
“The FBI holds all companies, regardless of size, to the same
standards,” FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson of
the San Francisco Field Office said, in a statement released by
the Department of Justice. “We will continue to work closely
with our law enforcement partners to ensure there is a level
playing field for all businesses and that everyone follows the
rules.”
Walmart defended itself, saying it has cleaned up its
environmental standards.
“Walmart has a comprehensive and industry-leading hazardous
waste program,” Phyllis Harris, senior vice-president and
chief compliance officer, said in a statement on Walmart’s
webpage. “The program was built around training, policies and
procedures on how to safely handle consumer products that become
hazardous waste, and we continue to run the same program in every
store and club that was deployed years ago.”
This month, Walmart surprised analysts by reporting a 1.4 per
cent quarterly decline in sales across the United States.
According to the Walmart website, the retailer operates more than
10,800 retail units under 69 banners in 27 countries. It employs
2.2 million associates around the world — 1.4 million in the
United States alone.
Robert Bridge is the author of the book, Midnight in the American Empire, which deals with the consequences of excessive corporate power in the United States.