Pollution of PHILADELPHIA Water by Merck

Pollution of PHILADELPHIA Water by Merck

January 2008  - Merck, the global 
pharmaceutical research company, has agreed to resolve violations of 
federal and state water pollution control regulations arising from spills 
of pollutants at its pharmaceutical plant outside of Philadelphia. The 
spills entered a waterway that supplies 40 percent of Philadelphia's 
drinking water. 
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. 

The federal court complaint, filed today, along with the settlement 
papers, alleges that Merck violated the Clean Water Act with several 
discharges that caused numerous violations at the treatment works. 
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. 

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