April 11, 2001 – SOUTH PORTLAND, ME — National Semiconductor Corporation has been fined more than $320,000 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stemming from a 1999 inspection of it’s Maine plant.

The EPA said it found several hazardous waste regulation violations including failure to have a complete hazardous waste contingency plan in plan in case of a hazardous waste spill, failure to fully inspect a hazardous waste tank before it was put into service, failure to properly train employees who handle hazardous waste, and failure to label hazardous waste containers properly.

Officials at National said steps were taken to rectify the situation as soon as the company was made aware of the problem.

“We have complete confidence in our employees and their commitment to safe and proper operation of our facility. Even so, we always seek ways to continuously improve our procedures and have always taken our responsibilities in environmental and safety area very seriously, ” said Paul Edmonds, vice president and managing director of the Maine facility. “In fact, we have significantly enhanced our environmental health and safety practices and training as a result of this exercise.”

National Semiconductor is based in Santa Clara, California. The South Portland facility currently employs 700 people.