Press Release  MassDEP Penalizes Lahey Clinic for Hazardous Waste, Air Quality Violations at its Burlington Hospital Facility

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) assessed a $25,000 penalty to the Lahey Clinic Hospital after an inspection of the Burlington facility uncovered numerous hazardous waste management and air quality violations involving the storage, labeling, handling, and disposal of wastes produced at the site.

Following an inspection of the facility at 41 Mall Road on September 20 and 21, 2022, MassDEP inspectors cited the hospital for failure to mark and label hazardous waste containers or keep proper records for the materials accumulated, improperly sent waste oil to a facility not authorized to receive it and failed to utilize a manifest during shipping, failed to produce a hazardous waste training plan and training records, as required by law, incorrectly labeled materials as “non-hazardous wastes,” allowed satellite waste containers to be open in numerous areas, and failed to have emergency contact lists and evacuation routes posted in waste accumulation areas.

In a consent order with MassDEP, Lahey Clinic agreed to correct each of the hazardous waste management and air quality violations and pay the penalty.

“Proper handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes is a necessity for facilities like hospitals so that the health and safety of the public they serve is assured,” said Eric Worrall, director of MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office in Woburn. “Lahey Clinic is now implementing systems to ensure that the violations have been corrected and the facility will remain in compliance with all hazardous waste requirements.”

MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and to ensure a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth; to provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives; and to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.

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