U.S. settles $1.8 million pollution case with Merck and Monsanto
provided by U.S. EPA and U.S. Department of Justice
erck and Co. Inc. has agreed to pay more than $1.8 million
in penalties and Monsanto Co. will install equipment to cut air pollution
from the Kelco kelp processing plant in San Diego as part of an agreement
announced in September by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.
EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Monsanto, the current owner of Kelco, will
install pollution control equipment to reduce smog-causing volatile organic
compound (VOC) air emissions by 680,000 pounds per year - equivalent to
the VOCs produced by about 10,000 cars. In addition, Merck, the former owner
of Kelco, has agreed to pay penalties of $1,857,395 to settle allegations
that the facility exceeded air pollution limits for several years.
"This facility was a major polluter, so
cleaning it up means major gains in air quality for San Diego area residents,"
said Dave Howekamp, director of U.S. EPA's western regional air division.
"We are very pleased that our cooperative effort with the San Diego
Air Pollution Control District on this case has already resulted in cleaner
air."
Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for
the Environment Division at the Department of Justice, said, "This
settlement serves as an example to all companies that violations of air
pollution standards will not be tolerated. We will do everything possible
to make sure those who break our environmental laws pay a penalty so that
others will follow the law and help keep our air clean."
"Monsanto's upgrades to the processing
equipment at Kelco will produce a direct, measurable environmental benefit
for the citizens of San Diego," said Alan Bersin, United States Attorney
for the Southern District of California.
In 1991, the Kelco facility was responsible
for more than a third of all industry-related VOC emissions in the San Diego
area. San Diego does not meet national health standards for ozone pollution,
which is caused when VOCs and nitrogen dioxide emissions react with sunlight
in the air to form smog.
Ground-level ozone causes health problems by
damaging lung tissue and sensitizing the lungs to other irritants. Studies
show that regular exposure to ozone at concentrations found in San Diego
and other heavily populated areas of California can significantly reduce
lung function in normal, healthy people during periods of moderate exercise.
People with asthma, the elderly, and children are especially at risk.
The agreement lodged today in U.S. District
Court settled allegations that Merck, which owned Kelco until February 1995,
made several modifications to the facility without obtaining the necessary
preconstruction permits, and that Merck failed to install the best available
emission controls as the changes were made.
During the course of U.S. EPA's investigation,
Merck met with the San Diego Air Pollution Control District and agreed to
install more stringent pollution controls at the facility. According to
the District, the controls installed by Merck since that time have already
cut emissions from the Kelco facility by more than 3.1 million pounds per
year.
As part of the settlement filed today, Monsanto
also has agreed to install monitoring and control equipment for two supplemental
projects that will reduce toxic air emissions and allow Monsanto to refine
its reporting of air and water emissions from the facility.
For more information, please contact Bill Glenn,
U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1589, or Carole Florman, U.S. Department of Justice,
(202) 616-2765.
