King Pharmaceuticals Fined For Air Pollution

King Pharmaceuticals has agreed to pay a $2.2 million fine and take steps to resolve allegations by federal prosecutors that emissions from the drug manufacturer’s Bristol, Tenn., plant violated the Clean Air Act. According to the complaint, King failed to adequately control emissions of methylene chloride and other hazardous air pollutants, violated the terms of its construction permit, and did not obtain the proper operating permit, as required under the Clean Air Act. The penalty should send a strong signal to the pharmaceutical industry that federal antipollution standards will be enforced, says Acting U.S. Assistant Attorney General Robert G. Dreher. On May 29, Baltimore-based UPM Pharmaceuticals announced it had purchased the 500,000-sq-ft Bristol plant from Pfizer, which acquired King in 2010 as a wholly owned subsidiary. Pfizer says the enforcement action began several years before the company bought King and “all underlying issues were corrected before or shortly after the acquisition.”