Merck Will Pay $1.8 Million To Settle EPA Pollution Case
May 19, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO -- Merck & Co., Whitehouse Station, N.J., has agreed to pay penalties of $1.8 million for air pollution from a San Diego kelp-processing plant, the largest such fine in California history. In addition, Monsanto Co., which acquired the plant from Merck in February 2010, agreed to install about $2 million of additional pollution-control equipment. Neither company could be reached to comment. The action settles allegations brought by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department that emissions from the Kelco kelp plant violated air standards. The EPA said the plant used to contribute about 10% of San Diego's smog. Kelp provides raw ingredients used in food, pharmaceuticals and other products. In 1982, Merck opened the unit as a pilot plant. But it grew into a full production facility without the company obtaining the necessary EPA approvals for the expansion, the agency said. As the plant grew, its pollution levels rose beyond allowable limits, the EPA said. Once the plant is fully up to EPA standards, estimated to be three years from now, nearly 60,000 cars' worth of smog will have been removed from San Diego skies, the agency said. Davida Duplessis, director of the EPA's western regional air division, said the San Diego plant was a ``major polluter; so cleaning it up means major gains.'' The settlement agreement was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
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