Dive Brief:
- Critics are calling for the closure of a Stericycle plant in Salt Lake City, UT after allegations surfaced that the company knowingly incinerated radioactive waste and altered the amount of waste processed on site.
- Communities for Clean Air and Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment drew attention to demands to shut down the facility by holding a press conference at the state Capitol building. The group appealed to Gov. Gary Herbert (R) to use his authority under state law to order the plant to close.
- Although wrongdoing was suspected as early as 2011, a video of a whistleblower brought the issue into the spotlight. A former employee tells the camera that a supervisor ordered workers to incinerate nuclear waste and that for every bag weighed, up to six were actually passed through.
Dive Insight:
Even after an investigation into the company's books, a resolution was never reached between the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Stericycle. The case is currently at a standstill as it awaits a hearing by an administrative law judge. The U.S. Attorneys Office is investigating the allegedly altered logs.
In response to the video, Stericycle said it would launch its own investigations into the alleged violations.