D.C. - TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. will resolve charges that it violated hazardous waste laws at its airbag manufacturing plant in Queen Creek, Ariz., under a civil settlement and criminal plea agreement announced today by the United States and the State of Arizona. The plea agreements also require VSSI to establish an environmental management system at two airbag factories in Arizona and one in Nevada. These settlements also serve as a warning to other companies that mismanage hazardous waste. If you break the law, you will pay the penalty.
Sodium azide is a component of the propellant that inflates the airbag.
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requires companies that produce, store, transport and dispose of hazardous waste to manage it in accordance with regulatory requirements. The civil settlement filed today settles claims that VSSI failed to meet these requirements. In the criminal plea agreement filed today, the company admitted that it knew the Butterfield landfill was not authorized to accept hazardous waste and that the sodium azide-contaminated waste was potentially harmful to the public and the environment. VSSI also admitted that it knew it was illegal to store this waste onsite at its factory, without a permit. The plea agreement directs VSSI to create and maintain for three years an environmental compliance plan at its three plants, to ensure that the company does not commit more violations of the type it admitted to today.