Remediation

Although Millipore has robust environmental programs that go beyond compliance, we know that we have several practices from the past that need to be addressed through remediation at select facilities.

TCE treatment system in Molsheim, France

At our Molsheim, France site, due to a past release, Millipore measured heightened levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), a cleaning and degreasing solvent, in soil near the site. We no longer use TCE in our manufacturing processes. In 2003-2004, Millipore installed a treatment system to remove the TCE. The system uses air to remove TCE from the groundwater and soil, and filter it through activated carbon filters to remove the TCE from the exhausted air. We expect that the system will continue to run for several years; we monitor results on a quarterly basis.

Over the past 15 years, Millipore has been alleged by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be a potentially responsible party (PRP) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), or analogous state law ("CERCLA" or "Superfund"). This is related to Section 101 of CERCLA, and affects twelve waste management sites to which Millipore may have sent chemical wastes. Millipore has paid approximately $14 million to date pursuant to consent decrees with the EPA and relevant state agencies to settle its liability at all of the Superfund sites at which the Company has been named a PRP.

Metrics

News

» More