A Shannon-based pharmaceutical company has spent more than €6 million this year on tighter environmental controls to prevent a recurrence of unlicensed emissions from the plant.
In March, Schwarz Pharma shut down its production processes for six weeks in response to local concerns over air emissions.
The move followed a district court hearing which was told that emissions from Schwarz Pharma containing suspected cancer-causing substances up to 36 times the legal limit were detected during an inspection last August.
The company faces fines of up to €10 million in the circuit court after a district court judge deemed the case too serious to be heard in the district court. The court was told the company was pleading guilty to nine breaches of its integrated pollution control (IPC) licence in the prosecution being brought by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Environment, health and safety director at the plant Dermot Hanrahan confirmed yesterday that Schwarz Pharma had spent €6 million this year on new environment technology. It employed three additional environment and health safety personnel, while the environmental awareness among 176 staff had improved through training programmes.
The company was one of the first in Ireland to receive an IPC licence in 1997, which is set for renewal. It is expected to impose tighter emission limits on the company. A decision is expected next month.
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