Apple has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), paying $261,000 and changing policies following claims it didn't properly handle hazardous waste at a Santa Clara chip facility.

On Tuesday, the EPA said it had reached a settlement with Apple to end claims the iPhone maker had violated federal hazardous waste laws. Apple was accused of failing to properly deal with hazardous waste and air emissions issues at the facility in Santa Clara, California.

The violations were said to include failures to:

  • Properly characterize hazardous waste.
  • Identify land disposal restriction requirements and provide written notification of the restrictions.
  • Maintain a permit to store hazardous waste for more than 90 days.
  • Control air emissions from a solvent waste tank.
  • Properly label and date hazardous waste containers.
  • Follow hazardous waste container management standards.
  • Perform and document daily inspections of hazardous waste tanks.

As part of its settlement, Apple updated its management of solvent waste, including installing hardware to control air emissions from the tank, and resolving other violations. It is also subject to a penalty of $261,283, which is relatively modest for Apple.

"Hazardous waste regulations serve as critical safeguards for facility workers, communities, and the environment," said EPA Pacific Southwest Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director Amy Miller. "EPA's actions will protect human health and the environment in the community of Santa Clara from the risk of hazardous waste."

Blowing whistles

Former employee Ashley Gjovik revealed the existence of an EPA complaint against Apple in 2024. Gjovik posted to Mastodon about an EPA report of enforcement inspections that were carried out at the location in August 2023.

She claims that she nearly died from an industrial chemical exposure at her apartment in 2020, before discovering in 2023 that Apple was "dumping toxic waste into the apartment windows from their Skunkworks semiconductor fab next door."

Gjovik then claimed to tip off the EPA, which conducted the inspection. This lines up with the EPA's details of inspections in August 2023 and January 2024, based on a "tip and complaint from the public."

Amid redactions, the released EPA report mentioned 19 potential violations by Apple at the site, chiefly surrounding the labelling and dating of items. However, there was also a 1,700-gallon CFA hazardous waste solvent tank that had not been tracked appropriately at the time.