Compliance & Remediation

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) tests performed on our treated wastewater in Jaffrey, NH prior to final discharge ensure we comply with applicable permits

Compliance with all relevant laws and regulations is a minimum requirement for Millipore. Although we have robust environmental programs that go beyond compliance, we know that past practices need to be addressed through remediation at select facilities.

Due to a past release, at our Molsheim, France site, we 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.

Millipore owned and operated a manufacturing facility in Cidra, Puerto Rico from 1979 - 2008. Millipore has sold the facility and no longer has operations at this location. Even though Millipore no longer owns this property, prior to closure of the facility, as a result of a routine RCRA facility assessment completed in 1988, Millipore started implementation of a voluntary, site-wide RCRA Facility Investigation at the facility in order to identify any soil or groundwater contamination that may exist. The investigation includes soil and groundwater sampling. The RFI is being conducted by Millipore on a voluntary basis; there is no RCRA Permit requirement or Administrative Order mandating the RFI, nor is Millipore conducting any remedial activities onsite.

TCE treatment system in Molsheim, France

Consistent with our approach to closure of any property, Millipore also voluntarily conducted a comprehensive site closure project, which included 3rd party certification from Arcardis, Inc. This demonstrated that all chemicals had been safely removed, permits properly closed, documentation completed, and no residual hazardous materials remained on site.

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 waste management sites to which Millipore may have sent chemical wastes. Millipore has contributed to consent decrees with the EPA and relevant state agencies to address its liability at Superfund sites at which the Company has been named a PRP.

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