Wal- Mart to pay $27.6M in Ca. dumping case

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has agreed to pay $27.6 mil. to settle allegations that it improrerly handles and dumped hazardous waste at stores across California in a case that led to change in the retailer's practices nationwide, prosecutors said.
The settlement ends a five-year investigation involving more than 20 prosecutors and 32 environmental groups. They alleged that each of the company's 236 stores and distribution centers across California, including Sam's Club warehouse stores, were in violation of environmental laws and regulations, said San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.
Wal-Mart was accused of improperly disposing of pesticide, fertilizer, paint, aerosols and other chemicals. In one case, Dumanis said a Solano County boy was found playing in a mound of fertilizing near a Wal-Mart garden section. The yellow-tinted powder contained ammonium sulfate, a chemical compound that causes irritation to people's skin, eyes and respiratory tract.
"Today, a corporate giant has been held accountable for its actions, and Wal-Mart is cleaning up its act," Dumanis said.
Wal-Mart still may shell out more money because of civil and criminal investigations by federal officials into allegations that the company's handling of hazardous waste violated environmental laws in California, Missouri and Washington, D.C. The federal cases are still pending, including California.