Connecticut Supreme Court Fines Bulb Manufactures

The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled unanimously against three companies for improperly disposing of mercury and mercury-containing fluorescent lib bulbs. In rulling againsg Light Souces Inc., LCD Lighting, Inc., and LS Neon Inc., the court ordered the companies to pay a $857,000 penalty and clean up two sites in the state that are contaminated with mecury.

The decision follows the Connecticut Attorney General suing the companies in July 1998 foir improper disposal of the bulbs.

The attorney general filed the action on behalf of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, whose investigation uncovered widespread mercury contamination at the locations and in nearby areas.

The DEP stated that instead of sending dud bulbs intact to a recycler, the companies threw them into dumpsters, where they broke and leaked mercury. Later, they put reject bulbs in a crusher that smashed them to recycle the glass, also releasing mercury. A DEP inspector found puddles of mercury around the crusher.

DEP inspectors also discovered mercury in septic systems at both Milford sites, suggesting that the companies improperly disposed of mercury-contaminated fluids.

The DEP uncovered widespread mercury contamination in wetlands and stream sediments south of the companies' former properties at 70 and 11 Cascade Boulevard, Milford. They also found contamination at the companies' new plant at 37 Robinson Boulevard, Orange.

A state court ruled in April 2003 that the companies had violated state environmental laws and penalized them $1.059 million, later reduced to $904,000. The company appealed the decision. In upholding the trial court's decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that the companies broke the law and the lower court's order to clean up the sites. It also reduced the penalty by $47,000.

The three companies share the same ownership. LS Neon went out of business in 2002.