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U-Haul required to improve hazardous material handling
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U-Haul required to improve hazardous material handling
U-Haul required to improve hazardous material handling
California’s attorney general and eight district attorneys have reached an agreement with U-Haul in a lawsuit over the company’s handling of hazardous materials. More from KPCC’s Debra Baer.
Prosecutors including the Riverside District Attorney sued U-Haul more than two years ago. They began to investigate the truck rental company after an explosion and fire at a U-Haul depot in Santa Rosa. A worker suffered flash burns and firefighters said they couldn’t respond quickly enough because the facility didn’t have a required site map of its hazardous materials.
A spokesman for the state attorney general says the probe turned up hazardous materials violations at 179 U-Haul outlets. Most involved waste gasoline, oil filters, and pans and car batteries.
The agreement ends the lawsuit. U-Haul will pay $2 million in costs and penalties. The company, based in Phoenix, will have to enact weekly inspections and improved employee training, and hire an environmental coordinator. U-Haul did not return calls seeking comment.
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