A South San Francisco biopharmaceutical company will pay thousands of dollars to settle claims it failed to properly monitor and mishandled hazardous waste, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday.
Genentech will pay $158,208 in civil fines after EPA investigators discovered the alleged hazmat violations at three locations at the company's South San Francisco facility in August 2021. According to the EPA, Genentech allegedly stored waste without a permit, failed to meet requirements related to monitoring hazardous air emissions, did not mark or record equipment properly, did not perform inspections and failed to maintain protection controls for a hazardous waste tank.
"When a company fails to comply with hazardous waste storage and monitoring requirements, that company puts workers and communities at risk of harmful exposures," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. Genentech announced in March that it would be closing its production facility in South San Francisco and lay off about 265 employees.