July 8, 2014 – North Vancouver, British Columbia – Environment Canada
North Vancouver-based Lester Cleaners has pleaded guilty in British Columbia Provincial Court to two counts of an offence under the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The charges relate to inadequate storage and handling of tetrachloroethylene (a substance also commonly known as PERC) waste.The company was sentenced to pay a $9,500 penalty. The penalty will be paid into the Environmental Damages Fund (EDF).
In 2012, Environment Canada enforcement officers inspected the dry-cleaning facility and identified two open containers of waste water and one container of sludge waste with no secondary containment system in place to catch spills, as required under the regulations. Subsequent testing of samples collected on site from both substances confirmed the presence of PERC.
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