DEQ Issues $61,222 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Violations at Reytech Corporation in Bend

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $61,222 penalty to Thomas Alan Reynolds for multiple hazardous waste violations related to his Bend business Reytech Corporation. Reynolds has until May 22 to appeal the penalty.

Reynolds illegally transported and stored hazardous waste in corroded and leaking containers. The waste included a number of potentially explosive chemicals, flammable liquids and many toxic substances.

Much of the waste dates back to between 2002 and 2007, when Reynolds operated a research laboratory at 742 S.E Glenwood Drive. Reynolds abandoned approximately 1,100 pounds of chemicals at that site, and he illegally transported another 2,400 pounds of chemicals to a Bend storage facility.

The hazardous waste included crystallized tetrahydrofuran, a highly flammable solvent, sodium azide which is explosive and lithium aluminum hydride which is violently reactive when introduced to moisture. Other waste includes:

• 442 pounds of flammable liquids
• 193 pounds of toxic liquids
• 44 pounds of flammable solids
• 60 pounds of nitric acid
• 17 pounds of cyanides

Reynolds was Reytech Corporation’s principle owner and chief executive prior to dissolution of the company in 2006.

DEQ issued the penalty because improperly storing hazardous waste is a threat to the environment and public health. The penalty also aims to ensure that no business receives a financial incentive for bypassing environmental regulations.