Foundry Company Pleads Guilty, Will Pay Fine

Union Foundry Co. has agreed to please guilty to a two-count information which was unsealed in the Northern District of Alabama. Union Foundry is a division of McWane Inc.

The plea agreement resulted from the investigation of worker safety and environmental violations at the company’s Anniston, Ala., foundry. The violations stemmed from the operation of the facility from the end of 1997 to August of 2000.

In the plea agreement, McWane's Union Foundry division agreed to plead guilty to count one of the information, admitting to the willful violation of an Occupational Safety and Health Administration safety regulation, and that this willful violation resulted in the death of an employee. More specifically, from March 17, 2000 until August 22, 2000, the corporation allowed its employees to work on a conveyor belt that did not have a safety guard mandated in OSHA's safety regulations.

The company also agreed to plead guilty to count two, admitting that it knowingly violated the Resource, Conservation and Recovery Act by allowing employees to illegally treat hazardous waste at its facility without a permit. The manufacturing process utilized by the facility involved melting ferrous scrap metal in a water-cooled cupola furnace. The melting process generated significant amounts of dust, containing lead and cadmium, which were emitted into the air and are considered hazardous waste under the RCRA. The dust was captured in large baghouses." McWane, then allowed its employees to treat the contaminated dust at the Union Foundry facility without a permit.

"This is the second time that a McWane division has agreed to plead guilty to charges that allege systematic indifference to safety and environmental laws," said Kelly Johnson, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This case is especially egregious as it involves the death of an employee. We are committed as well to ensuring that environmental crimes such as these receive harsh punishments that will deter others from such practices."

Pursuant to the plea agreement, which must be approved by the district court, McWane's Union Foundry division will pay a criminal fine of $3.5 million and serve a period of probation of three years. The Union Foundry facility is currently subject to a number of consent decrees issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). Violations of any of these consent decrees or environmental regulations and laws could constitute a violation of probation for the parent company.

In addition, McWane's Union Foundry division is required to propose a community service project valued at $750,000. The Justice Department, which must approve the proposed community service project, will seek to have the community service project directed towards worker safety or environmental remediation in the Anniston area. If approval is not given by the Department, McWane's Union Foundry division will be required to forfeit the $750,000 as an additional criminal fine.

Earlier this year  Tyler Pipe Company, a division of McWane, Inc., pleaded guilty to submitting a false statement and violating the Clean Air Act. Tyler Pipe agreed to pay a criminal fine of $4.5 million and is subject to a probation period of five years. As part of its settlement, Tyler Pipe must also undertake significant improvements at the facility as a condition of probation. The improvements for the Tyler Pipe facility are estimated to cost as much as $24 million.