SEATTLE, WA – Washington’s Department of Ecology fined the U.S. Postal Service $33,000 this week for improperly storing and disposing of packages containing dangerous wastes at its Seattle Bulk Mail Center.

The U.S. Service has already corrected the violations that “needed to be immediately addressed,” according to the Department of Ecology.

If leaking or damaged packages contain materials such as insecticides, propane, paints, or cleaning products, the facility is required to properly identify the substances, assess the related hazards, and then safely store and dispose of the waste.

The Postal Service has 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.

The penalty is due to several violations of dangerous waste laws that inspectors found at the facility in 2024.

Those violations include failure to identify dangerous waste; failure to safely store dangerous waste; failure to properly manage waste like batteries and fluorescent bulbs; and failure to maintain personnel training records.

The Department of Ecology noted that containers awaiting disposal were often unlabeled and stored in crowded areas.

Inspections completed at the facility in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2024 all found deficiencies in how the Seattle Bulk Mail Center was identifying and storing packages containing dangerous wastes, according to the Department of Ecology.

Inspectors also reportedly found that hazardous wastes from regular operations and vehicle maintenance at the facility were also an issue.

The U.S. Postal Service has corrected issues related to all four violations, such as changing how they store dangerous materials, safely disposing of their accumulated waste, and recording their weekly inspections, according to an Ecology spokesperson.

There are other compliance issues, such as a training plan for employees that they are continuing to work on with Ecology, the spokesperson said.

“We expect businesses that generate hazardous waste to take the regulations seriously,” said Christa Colouzis, Northwest Region manager for Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction program.

The U.S. Postal Service did not respond to a request for comment.

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