The Department of Health is accusing a Hawai'i shipyard company of committing a "serious" violation by improperly disposing about 8,000 pounds of hazardous waste that contained the heavy metal cadmium.

Pacific Shipyards International was assessed a $47,500 fine by the department for the alleged violation of state hazardous waste rules. Health officials said the company could not show that it properly disposed of two 2-ton "super sacks" of hazardous sand blast grit that was contaminated with cadmium.

The rules require that the generator of the waste track the material from generation to proper disposal, which the Health Department said was not done. The company also was issued a notice of violation for allegedly storing two super sacks of blast grit contaminated with lead and hazardous waste paints and solvents beyond the 90-day storage requirement at its Pier 41 headquarters.

Officials with Pacific Shipyards International could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Grace Simmons, the Health Department's hazardous waste section supervisor, said the company is contesting the allegations and has requested a hearing on the matter.

Simmons characterized the allegations as "serious violations" because of the potential for harm. She said cadmium could be harmful if it got into the groundwater system and has been shown to cause neurological problems.

Simmons said health officials are still trying to work with Pacific Shipyards to determine what happened to the waste.

"These are large items of hazardous wastes that should not have gone missing," Simmons said. "Part of the hazardous waste program is this 'cradle-to-grave' concept where hazardous waste was generated must be tracked until its point of disposal. In this case, we could not follow the trail of the sacks."

She said the proper disposal procedure would have been to send the waste to the Mainland through a hazardous waste contractor.

In other action announced yesterday, Philip Services Corp. in Kapolei was assessed a $22,000 fine for allegedly operating a used oil transporter/transfer facility without a permit. The company also was cited for allegedly failing to provide secondary containment for used oil and failing to label containers as "used oil."

Philip Services is an environmental contractor that does off-site tank cleaning and hazardous waste transporting. Company officials also could not be reached for comment.

Simmons said Philip Services has a used-oil permit from the department, but the facility on Malakole Street in Kapolei does not. Philip Services also has asked for a contested-case hearing, Simmons said.

Philip Services was cited for a similar violation in 2001, while this is Pacific Shipyards International's first citation, Simmons said.

The two violations come a day after the Department of Health fined Kapolei recycler Lenox Metals $30,500 for allegedly dumping thousands of computer parts at the city's Waimanalo Gulch landfill.

The computer monitors are believed to contain hazardous waste, the Health Department said.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.