Rhodia Fined $18 Million for Fire-Prone Hazwaste

WASHINGTON, DC, May 4, 2004 (ENS) - Rhodia Inc. has been fined $18 million as a result of its guilty pleas to two knowing violations of the Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) at Rhodia’s elemental phosphorus manufacturing plant in Silver Bow County, Montana. The criminal fine is the largest ever paid for criminal environmental violations in the District of Montana, and one of the largest ever paid for prosecution of hazardous waste crimes in the country.

In the District Court of Montana on Thursday, Chief Judge Donald Molloy also sentenced Rhodia to perform 1,000 hours of community service.

On January 14, 2004, Rhodia pled guilty to two felonies committed in violation of RCRA. Pursuant to a plea agreement approved by the court, Rhodia will also be required to clean up the ite pursuant to orders by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under RCRA.

The Silver Bow Plant manufactured elemental phosphorus from at least 1986 until 1996. Elemental phosphorus was used by other manufacturers to produce fertilizer, pesticides and food grade phosphoric acid.

Elemental phosphorus waste is classed as a hazardous waste under RCRA, because it can spontaneously ignite when exposed to air, posing a threat to the environment and public health.

In 1996, the Silver Bow Plant was put into mothball status, and was closed in 1997.

Rhodia has admitted that from January 1999 until August 2000, after the Silver Bow Plant was closed, it illegally stored elemental phosphorus sludge, a hazardous waste, at the site in a large concrete tank known as a 100 foot clarifier.

Rhodia also has admitted that it illegally stored carbon brick and precipitator dust contaminated with elemental phosphorus waste, a hazardous waste. The carbon brick and precipitator dust had been discarded from a furnace at the site.

The illegal activity was discovered in May 2000, when the EPA and Montana Department of Environmental Quality executed a search warrant at the Silver Bow Plant.

“The successful conclusion of this case is another clear indication of our commitment to protect the environment of the state through investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes,” said Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana. “Deterrence of this type of crime is best achieved through an active enforcement effort.”

Under the plea agreement approved by the court, Rhodia will be required to perform remediation of all hazardous wastes at the Silver Bow Plant, subject to approval by the EPA. Rhodia will be subject to five years’ probation, and the period of probation could be extended should remediation at the Silver Bow Plant take longer than five years.

Publicly traded on the Paris and New York stock exchanges, Rhodia is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of specialty chemicals, providing products and services to the consumer care, food, industrial care, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, automotive, electronics and fibers markets. Rhodia generated net sales of €5.5 billion in 2003 and employs approximately 23,000 people worldwide.