Union Pacific Railroad to pay $155k penalty over toxic waste disposal violations in Oakland

Union Pacific Railroad will pay a $155,234 penalty for sending toxic waste in Oakland to a landfill that wasn’t authorized to accept it, among other violations, under a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The penalty resolves violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act tied to a cleanup conducted in 2022 at the railroad’s property on 73rd Avenue in Oakland — a property that has been undergoing environmental investigation and cleanup since 1998.

The violations stem from Union Pacific removing polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB-contaminated soil from their site and inadequately handling its disposal.

The EPA said the railroad sent 334 tons of PCB waste to a landfill that wasn’t permitted to take it, and without disclosing what the soil actually contained. An additional 205 tons went to a landfill that was authorized to handle PCB, but Union Pacific also failed to document the disposal properly, according to the EPA.

PCBs are man-made chemicals that were used extensively in U.S. industry from 1929 until their ban in 1979 over health and environmental concerns. The reason they were so heavily used by industrial manufacturers is the same reason they were banned: they are durable compounds that resist breaking down. They’re toxic to the environment and build up in plants and animals over time before ultimately reaching humans through the food chain or nearby exposure.

The EPA states that properly identifying and documenting PCB waste before disposal allows receiving facilities to apply the proper engineering controls and procedures to ensure toxic substances aren’t released into the environment.

“Companies that generate PCB-containing waste have a responsibility to properly manage it so toxic substances aren’t released into the environment,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Michael Martucci said in the announcement.

As part of the settlement, Union Pacific has certified that it has brought its practices into compliance with Toxic Substances Control Act regulations.

The company provided the following statement on the matter, “While Union Pacific does not agree with the allegations raised by the U.S. EPA, we appreciate the agency’s willingness to work toward an agreeable resolution. Union Pacific has worked to remediate the property for several years and will continue to take actions that safeguard the community.”