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<DIV><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>TOXICS: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span lang=EN style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Costco settles multimillion-dollar hazmat lawsuit <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Published: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Big-box retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. said it would pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit alleging environmental abuses in some of its California stores.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The suit contends that over five years, Costco employees did not properly store or dispose of hazardous materials, including oven cleaners, bleach and nicotine patches. Some products would be left on store shelves indefinitely, according to the suit. Others would be thrown in the trash. California law requires that hazardous materials be properly disposed of after 90 days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Twenty-nine district attorneys filed the suit regarding practices in California stores last week in Alameda County Superior Court. It was settled two days later.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>"Costco officials cooperated with prosecutors and quickly came into compliance with hazardous waste management regulations," said Ken Mifsud, senior deputy district attorney in Alameda County.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span lang=EN style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Costco did not respond to requests for comment (Will Kane, <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/05/BAME1OSHED.DTL"><i><span style='color:#990000'>San Francisco Chronicle</span></i></a>, June 5). <b>-- WW</b><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></DIV>
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