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Bristol-Myers Squibb Clean Air Act Settlement

(New York, N.Y) Bristol-Myers Squibb, an international pharmaceutical manufacturer, has agreed to reduce the output of ozone-depleting refrigerants at multiple industrial facilities around the country at a combined cost of $3.65 million in order to resolve violations of the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today.

Under an agreement filed in federal court in Evansville, Ind., New-York based Bristol-Myers Squibb will be required to retire or retrofit seventeen industrial refrigeration units by July 2009 at facilities in Mt. Vernon and Evansville, Ind.; Hopewell, N.J.; and Humacao and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.  The units are used in the facilities’ industrial process or as air conditioners and currently use hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) as refrigerants.  When leaked into the air, HCFCs deplete ozone in the earth’s stratosphere, which protects it from dangerous amounts of cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) rays.  Excessive UV exposure is linked to increased incidents of cataracts and poses risks to human immune systems and plant and animal life.  The company has agreed to change over the seventeen units to use only non ozone-depleting refrigerants.

“Bristol-Myers Squibb has acted responsibly, not only to discover, document, and correct past violations, but to eliminate the use of potentially-damaging refrigerants in its operations,” said Granta Nakayama, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “These actions will help to protect the ozone layer, ensuring a safer environment for our future generations.”

For more information:

For more information, contact:

Tahani Rivers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-6850
rivers.tahani@epa.gov

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