Wal-Mart must pay millions in hazardous waste case

At first, I questioned the notion that a store could really produce so much hazardous waste. But Wal-Mart itself has become a hazardous waste, so why not?

Wal-Mart has to pay a settlement of $27,600,000 because it improperly dumped hazardous waste at its stores all over the state of California. The probe found serious violations at 236 Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers statewide.

The retail giant dumped pesticides, paint, and other chemicals. A boy was even found playing in a mound of poisonous fertilizer outside a Wal-Mart garden section.

It might not just be Wal-Mart. Now other store chains are also being investigated for similar allegations.

(Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/03/financial/f102838D25.DTL&tsp=1)