Polluting Philly Drinking Water Costs Merck $20 Million

In one of the most comprehensive remediation settlement agreements for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Merck will pay $10 million to deploy systems that will prevent future discharges of pollutants from the facility, federal and state officials announced today.

A consent decree filed in court requires Merck to pay $1,575,000 in penalties and civil damages for past violations and spend at least $10 million to implement increased monitoring, tracking, testing and assessment tools for its waste stream.

In addition, Merck will spend about $9 million for environmental projects to improve water quality and/or protect Wissahickon Creek as a source of drinking water.

"Perhaps more than anything else, this settlement says to every company that discharges dangerous chemicals as part of its operations that it is accountable to the environment and the community," said Pat Meehan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

"Because when you get right down to it," he said, "no one should have to wonder, when they walk into the kitchen for a glass of water, if what they are about to drink is going to make them or their children sick."

"Merck's actions led to an extensive fish kill and caused the Philadelphia Water Department to temporarily shut down its drinking water operations," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Ronald Tenpas. "This settlement ensures that Merck will take steps to prevent future illegal discharges including installing an early warning system to protect drinking water."

The Merck facility, a pharmaceutical plant located in West Point, Pennsylvania, houses pharmaceutical and vaccine research as well as the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products and vaccines.

Spread across 400 acres, the facility's 110 buildings are used by 8,500 employees. Merck discharges pollutants from this facility to the Upper Gwynedd Township Publicly Owned Treatment Works. The treated effluent is discharged into the Wissahickon Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River.

Wissahickon Creek is a tributary of the Schuylkill River (Photo credit unknown)

On June 13, 2006, a Merck employee ignored company protocol and disposed of potassium thyocyanate by dumping it down a drain. The chemical reacted with the chlorination at the treatment plant and after discharge caused extensive fish kills in the Wissahickon Creek on June 14 and 15.

This discharge also caused the Philadelphia Water Department to close its Schuylkill River drinking water intake on June 14 and 15.

It also caused the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to issue health advisories to ban all recreational uses on the Wissahickon Creek from June 14 through July 10, 2006.

On August 8 and 9, 2006 Merck discharged a large batch of spent substrate used for vaccine production, and the following week discharged cleaning agents. Passing through the treatment works, these discharges caused large amounts of foam to enter the Wissahickon Creek.

"This is a prime example of how natural resources can be taken away by big dischargers. There is no excuse in this age of technological advance for Merck to release this dangerous chemical and for it to go undetected through the Upper Gwynedd wastewater plant," said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper.

The proposed consent decree includes interim measures undertaken already to prevent discharges without pre-approval; create a tracking system for waste handling; create a task force to assess the system throughout the facility, and impose increased testing and assessment tools for the waste stream.

The decree contains Merck's commitment to long term remedial measures that include a prevention program; an enhanced wastewater management program; and a chemical management accountability system for the facility.

Merck has committed to restoration of a segment of the Wissahickon Creek to improve the water quality of this key tributary of the Schuylkill River. The company will create a wetlands on a 10 acre parcel of property adjacent to the creek.

Merck will purchase and install an aquatic bio-monitoring system that monitors fish activity to give the Philadelphia Water Department an early warning system on materials in the Wissahickon Creek that may threaten drinking water quality.

In addition, the decree calls for Merck to contribute $4.5 million toward the purchase of a parcel of land adjacent to the creek that will have restricted use and open space easements in perpetuity.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.