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Rohm & Haas Settles Environmental Case For $38 Million

Jan. 13, 2005

Philadelphia-based specialty chemical company Rohm & Haas has agreed to pay $38 million dollars to settle environmental irregularities at a Morton Moss Point, Miss., plant that manufacturers adhesives and sealants. Rohm & Haas acquired the plant when it purchased Morton International in 1999. The settlement was made with the EPA, the Dept. of Justice, and the State of Mississippi. The case grew out of Morton's discovery and disclosure in 1996 of irregularities in the plant's reports of its waste water discharge into the Escatawpa River. The company later discovered its environmental manager was filing false reports. He was fired and pleaded guilty to falsifying reports. The settlement includes:

$20 million in civil penalties.

$2 million in criminal penalties.

$10 million toward a plant waste-water minimization supplemental environmental project.

$4 million to the community of Moss Point for improvements to its sewer system.

$2 million to the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Polymer Science for pollution prevention research.