Final Forge, a company that had operations at Plymouth Municipal Airport and whose website says it makes “humancentric technology for the military, law enforcement, and homeland security,” has been fined $18,400 by the state for improperly transporting hazardous materials out of town.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection levied the fine, saying Final Forge moved hazardous waste from the airport to the Clean Earth disposal facility in Rhode Island.
In a press release, the Department of Environmental Protection said Final Forge took the waste from its hangar in Plymouth to a Clean Earth facility in Providence. The agency said several 55-gallon tanks, as well as gallon- and pint-size containers of chemicals, were unidentified and were not accompanied by the hazardous waste manifest required by law. Clean Earth did not accept the materials, but Final Forge abandoned them at the loading dock anyway, the agency said.
Investigators also found two additional 55-gallon tanks of chemicals at the airport that had been improperly disposed of, the state said.
The waste containers held acids, zinc nitrate, barium sulfide, chromium, barium, waste oil mixed with water, waste gasoline, and resins and amines, said DEP spokesperson Edmund Coletta.
“Hazardous waste disposal regulations ensure proper characterization of waste materials, so they are shipped and disposed of in accordance with ‘cradle-to-grave’ rules,” said Stephen Spencer, acting director of the DEP’s Environmental Strike Force, in a statement. “Companies that cut corners and place the public health and the environment in danger will be pursued and held accountable.”
Final Forge’s outdated website says it is still based at the airport, but airport manager Matt Cardillo said the company has not had a presence there “for the last couple of years.” In 2022, the company announced it was moving to Tennessee, where it is now based.
Nevertheless, the hazardous waste containers were still at the airport when agents from the Massachusetts DEP’s Environmental Strike Force and Rhode Island’s Department of Environmental Management launched their investigation in January 2023, Coletta said.
The company has a contract for up to $49 million with the Department of Defense for U.S. Special Operations Command helicopter crew helmets. Its website offers few specifics about its work – even viewing a portfolio of products requires having “necessary credentials.”
Final Forge must pay $8,400 of the fine up front. The remaining $10,000 will be suspended if it provides information and manifests about the improperly disposed chemicals.
Final Forge executives did not respond to several voice mails requesting comment.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org