Air emissions from a Shannon pharmaceutical plant containing suspected cancer-causing substances were found to be 36 times the legal limit, a court was told yesterday.
Schwarz Pharma Ltd faces potential fines of up to €10 million after a judge deemed the case against the German-owned company too serious to be heard in the District Court.
At the outset of the case at Shannon District Court, solicitor for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Barry Doyle told Judge Joseph Mangan that the company was pleading guilty to nine breaches of its integrated pollution control (IPC) licence, with three other charges being withdrawn by the agency.
Senior EPA inspector John Feehan told the court an inspection of the Schwarz Pharma site in the Shannon Free Zone on August 19th last found air emissions of the substance dichloromethane from the main production plant to be 14 to 36 times above the legal limit.
The company also faces two charges of breaching air emission limits in relation to an organic solvent that Mr Feehan said yesterday could affect the central nervous system, causing irritation and headaches.
In relation to the organic solvent toluene, the company was three times over the legal emission limit. The alleged breach of the emission limits for this substance lasted more than one year, from November 21st, 2003, to January 31st, 2005.
The company is also accused of filing misleading reports with the EPA between November 21st, 2003, and August 24th, 2004.
Mr Feehan said that on August 24th the audit team unearthed a file drafted by the company and its consultants that contained significant and sustained breaches relating to emission limits for the company's nitrate plant.
"This information should have been lodged with the agency. Instead it was withheld, and the company reported to the agency that everything was okay," he said.
The company is also facing a charge of failing to ensure that all waste materials awaiting disposal were collected and stored in designated areas on August 24th. Mr Feehan said an inspection of the plant site this week found that this breach was continuing.
The company is also facing four other charges relating to failure to ensure on August 30th, 2004, that all storage tanks were rendered impervious to the materials stored therein; failing to provide written, up-to-date operating procedures for treatment/abatement facilities on August 24th; not having adequate firewater retention facilities; and not notifying the EPA of an emission from its nitrate plant.
Mr Doyle said a maximum fine of €3,000 was allowed for each summons.
However, after hearing an outline of the alleged breaches, Judge Mangan declined jurisdiction in the case.
The solicitor for Schwarz Pharma asked to address the judge on the question of jurisdiction, but Judge Mangan told him that he had made up his mind.
Mr Doyle said he would now refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The case was adjourned to Shannon District Court on May 19th.
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