Ed Silverman, over at Pharmalot, has a very solid piece out, putting the latest EPA fine into a broader perspective, at least in Pennsylvania -- do go read it all (a bit appears below):
. . . .This is not the first time, by the way, that Merck has run afoul of environmental laws at its Pennsylvania facilities. In late 2007, Merck paid a $20.5 million for violating the Clean Water Act with three chemical discharges in 2006, one of which killed more than 1,000 fish and forced Philadelphia to temporarily shut off drinking water intakes. . . .
This led to a consent decree and also prompted the EPA to follow up with a more extensive investigation into Merck environmental practices. The agency then conducted what it calls a series of multi-media inspections to review both compliance with federal air, water, hazardous waste, spill prevention, and community right-to-know regulations. This led to the latest agreement. . . .
Also recall that the former Merck Albany, Georgia facility is now a large environmental impact abatement/clean-up site, and that the damages aren't yet know in the Merced, California Chromium 6 water contamination case (but some liability has been established, at an earlier jury trial in the federal courts in central California).
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