Nancy O'Malley

Costco Wholesale Corp. has agreed to pay $3.6 million to settle a lawsuit filed by 29 district attorneys in California that alleged the retailer failed to properly store and dispose of hazardous materials at dozens of outlets in the state. According to the lawsuit, over a five-year period Costco employees didn't label or sort hazardous materials that had sat unsold on shelves or that customers had returned for long periods of time. This included such items as oven cleaner, bleach, pool chlorine and nicotine patches.