Edmonton dry cleaner fined for environmental offence
Edmonton, Alberta - October 31, 2016 - Environment and Climate Change Canada
Canadians value a safe and a clean environment. Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC’s) enforcement officers work hard every day to make sure people and companies are following Canadian environmental laws.
On September 20, 2016, Mr. Hannes Rudolph, manager of Page the Cleaner, a dry-cleaning facility located in Edmonton, pleaded guilty, in the Provincial Court of Alberta, to one count of contravening the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations, made pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). Mr. Rudolph was fined $20,000, which will be directed to the Environmental Damages Fund.
The charges stem from inspections of the business’s premises in 2014 and 2015, when ECCC enforcement officers identified tetrachloroethylene waste water and residue in uncovered containers, in contravention with the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations.
In addition to the fine, the court ordered Mr. Rudolph to design and implement a training procedure for staff employed at his dry-cleaning facility and to develop a standard operating procedure dealing with the safe-operation and the safe-handling procedures of working with and around tetrachloroethylene.
Quick facts
- Tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or PERC, is a chemical used in Canadian dry cleaning. Tetrachloroethylene enters the environment through the atmosphere, where it can damage plants, and it can find its way into ground water.
- On March 29, 2000, tetrachloroethylene was added to the “List of Toxic Substances” in Schedule 1 of CEPA. According to Section 64 of the Act, a substance is classified as toxic if it may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or if it may constitute a danger in Canada to human life or health.
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