DuPont Reaches $1.28 Million Settlement Over Toxic Gas Leaks

   By Chelsey Dulaney 
 

DuPont Co. agreed to pay $1.28 million to resolve alleged violations tied to hazardous chemical leaks at a West Virginia chemical plant that left one DuPont worker dead, the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.

The hazardous material leaks, which occurred at the Belle plant between 2006 and 2010, posed significant risks to residents and to the Kanawha River, the Justice Department said.

The leaks were discovered in January 2010, when operators found more than 2,000 pounds of methyl chloride had leaked into the atmosphere and employees failed to respond to alarms, the DOJ said. A day later, workers found a leak in a pipe containing toxic gas. Later that day, a hose containing toxic gas ruptured, exposing the worker who later died.

DuPont also agreed in the settlement to corrective measures, including impelmenting new procedures to improve its response to alarms over hazardous releases, the DOJ said.

Overall, the new procedures are expected to cost the chemical maker $2.28 million. DuPont has already spent an estimated $6.83 million to comply with a 2010 order from the EPA over Clean Air Act violations, the DOJ said.

The company didn't immediately have a statement on the settlement.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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