California PVC Manufacturer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $4.3 Million Fine

(06/30/04) Keysor-Century Corporation, a defunct company which manufactured polyvinyl chloride at its facility in Saugus, Calif., agreed on June 17 to plead guilty to a series of felony charges and pay $4.3 million in criminal and civil penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, for committing mail fraud, defrauding the U.S. and for civil violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. Specifically, Keysor-Century was charged with knowingly releasing toxic wastewater into the Santa Clara River, illicit emission of air pollutants, falsifying emission reports to state and federal agencies, illegally storing and handling hazardous waste and maintaining its facility in a way that posed a threat of release of hazardous substances into the environment. These substances included vinyl chloride, a flammable gas known to be carcinogenic when inhaled by humans. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Area Office of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Los Angeles Co. Department of Public Works, the Los Angeles Co. Sanitation District, the City of Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles Co. Fire Department's Health Hazardous Materials Division with the assistance of EPA's Countrywide Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

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