Chemical Manufacturer and Ohio EPA Reach Settlement Over Air Pollution Violations

By Jennifer Griffith

Published on January 17, 2007

According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, German-based company Cognis Corp. violated safety measures including meeting organic compound emission requirements, regular testing of stacks for emissions, monitoring and recording landfill gas sulfur quantities, and timely repair of a poorly functioning boiler.

Included in the settlement is a $20,000 pollution prevention study of the Cognis plant on Este Avenue; Cognis is ordered to test its air pollution equipment in the presence of county and state officials. $290,000 in state fines includes a $62,000 payment that will fund a state program for clean diesel-burning school buses.

Pollution-control has be a problem for Cognis before.

In December, Cognis pled guilty to five misdemeanor violations that involved illegal dumping into Mill Creek and paid $400,000 in fines to settle the federal criminal case it faced. The groundwater contamination caused the death of birds and fish in the Mill Creek area.

Earlier in 2005, Cognis was fined $25,000 by the city of Cincinnati for odors violations.

Cognis Corp. produces oleochemicals—a chemical product derived from biological fats and oils—and belongs to the German chemical manufacturer Cognis Deutschland.

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