This article is from page 16 of the 2005-09-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
A PROSECUTION be- ing taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) against a Shannon- based = pharmaceutical plant has been adjourned to October for the service of a Book of Evidence.
The | German-owned Schwarz Pharma firm is accused of nine separate breaches of its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) licence.
State solicitor Martin Linnane told Shannon District Court that the Book of Evidence is not yet ready and the case can, on consent, be ad- journed to the October Ota Mae te te
Initially, the prosecu- tion against the company was being taken by the Environmental — Protec- tion Agency (EPA). How- ever, after Judge Joseph Mangan heard an outline of the evidence against the company in March, he deemed the case too serious to be heard in the
district court.
As a result, the prose- cution is now being taken by the DPP and the mat- ter will be heard in the Circuit Court, where the company faces fines of up to €10 million.
At the company’s ini- tial court appearance in March, the court was told Schwarz Pharma would be pleading guilty to the nine alleged breaches.
The court was told that air emissions from the plant in August 2004, oyale-NeenbarS suspected cancer-causing substanc- es, were found to be 36 times the legal limit.
The company is also facing two __ separate charges of breaching air emission limits in rela- tion to an organic solvent that can affect the central nervous system and cause irritation and headaches.
The company is also accused of filing mis- leading reports with the EPA between November 21, 2003 and August 24,
ples
Six days after the dis- trict court appearance in March, Schwarz Pharma decided on a voluntary basis to suspend certain production ROCA ers which could give rise to emissions exceeding the levels in its Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) granted by the Environ- mental Protection Agen- OVA @ 8) 0 ¥P
The partial shutdown lasted for six weeks be- fore the company recom- menced production in April. To-date, this year, the company has spent €6 million on enhanced environmental controls.
This includes €3 mil- lion on putting in place liquid scrubbers on its pharmaceutical plant and an additional €3 million Spent on a new waste wa- ter treatment plant.
The company currently has an application with the EPA for an updated Integrated Pollution Con- trol (IPC) and a decision is due later this month.